Waking Up From the Past
by Hollywood Phoenix
Summary: *NEW CH:14 and msg from author!* Angel and Cordy switch places with their 3rd season Btvs selves & together with the present Fang Gang & past Scoobies, figure out a way to switch back. Set after Atvs ep 'Provider' and just before Btvs ep 'Lover's Walk'.
1. Prologue/Early Morning

**Waking Up From the Past**  
Prologue: Early Morning

by Hollywood Phoenix

  


Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.   
Premise: The morning after Provider, Cordelia has a massive headache. And *serious* memory flashbacks from her Btvs years.  
Spoilers: This chapter takes place after "Provider" but pretty much no spoilers.   


~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


A faint ray of sun streamed into a room in the early hours of the morning. On the other side, tucked away from sunlight, was a bed. And on the bed were three figures, slumbering peacefully.

  


Suddenly, one of the figures stirred. Confused at his position on the bed, he looked to his side and realized that he hadn't been sleeping alone. At the far end, a beautiful, short-haired brunette was sprawled on her stomach, one hand resting above her head, as if reaching for the equally tranquil baby beside her. His baby.

  


Looking at the scene in front of him, it was all he could do to keep breathing normally. Not that he needed to, he wryly reminded himself. But this was an exception; watching his child and the woman who'd become his best friend resting so comfortably on his bed evoked emotions in him he never thought he could feel. He chuckled to himself, a concept that had been so foreign to him just two years ago. It was just that he couldn't help it; being around the two people who meant the most to him at this moment made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, like a pleasant euphoria which started from his toes and traveled all the way up to the top of his head.

  


Musing at the strangeness of it all, he could hardly believe how his unnatural life had turned out. For an almost 250 year old, he'd seen and felt a lot of things and none had ever remotely come close to making him feel as if he was part of a loving, normal family before. Or feel like holding his hand over his heart and melting into a puddle of goo. Breathing in the scent lingering on the bed covers, of the three of them in such close quarters, a heady giddiness overcame him. He let the memory of the moment flutter over him and settle in almost pure bliss.

  


A warning flashed in his head and he moved forward to put his son back in his crib. As he lifted the baby off the bed, the woman murmured, as if in soft protest. He paused, hovering over her before swiftly descending and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. The lady sighed and smiled, as if in acquiescence and nestled closer into the covers she was lying on. With one strong arm firmly holding his son, he retrieved a blanket lying nearby and covered her softly breathing body. With a brief backwards glance at the lone figure still on the bed, he walked out of the room with his son to start the new day.

  


~~X~~X~~ * ~~X~~X~~

  


A/N: The start of Fanfic #3. This chapter has been slightly revised. Anyway, please R&R!   
Disclaimers: Nope, still not mine. 

  


(c) February 21, 2002, updated March 16, 2002   
  
Liked this story? Check out my other fanfics at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=169482   
Thanks for reading! 


	2. Waking Up

**Waking Up From the Past**  
Chapter 1: Waking Up

by Hollywood Phoenix

  


Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.   
Premise: The morning after Provider, Cordelia has a massive headache. And *serious* memory flashbacks from her Btvs years.  
Previously: Angel wakes up after "Provider" while Cordelia continues to sleep.  
This chapter: The start of a plot. The entire gang is here, with our fave amateur vampire hunter and the brainy Pylean spending time together. And an appearance by the one and only "renegade" ex-Watcher, as well as our fave green Host. (C/A, F/G, slight B/A)  
Spoilers: This chapter takes place after "Provider" but pretty much no spoilers.   


~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


**The Hyperion Hotel, January 22, 2002**

  


Cordelia was dreaming pleasant thoughts.

  


She was following a notion, masquerading as a bright firefly. It was heading up a snowy slope towards a bright light. While she made her trek up the slope, she noticed the evergreen trees along the side. She didn't look back because she didn't want to. Or maybe she was afraid to, but she knew she left clear footprints in her path.

  


As she got closer, to wherever it was she trying to reach, she could hear the faint strains of a heavenly melody. She paused and squinted at the bright light. A form was developing in her eyes; what was it? A dark shadow towered above her, scraping the endless light blue sky. It was... a castle. She trudged on, the fluffy white snow gradually getting icier as the slope got steeper. 

  


As her path gradually got harder to tread, she started feeling a greater urgency to get to the castle and its encompassing angelic music. Just as she approached the haven offered by the castle, she suddenly slipped and unable to keep her footing, began sliding. As she slid, a myriad of images bombarded her. A sunny day at Sunnydale High. Legions of faceless Cordettes at cheerleading practice. Giles holding council with the Scooby gang in the library. Spike driving in a classic 1958 Dodge Desoto FireFlite. Harmony throwing pitying looks at her and Xander. Xander and Willow locking lips. Buffy...

  


And that's when she woke up with a gasp.

  


Disoriented, she opened her eyes, rolled over and immediately realized that she wasn't in her own bed, or even her own home. A little startled, but not frightened, she sat up and looked around at her surroundings. When she saw that she was on Angel's bed, she breathed a sigh of relief and flopped down on her back again. 

  


Gazing at the ceiling in the dim room, she tried to remember why she'd fallen asleep there. Last night, she had been feeding Connor and they had been lying in bed with Angel. She vaguely recalled a slightly incoherent and disjoint discussion with Angel about Connor's college fund. And a yacht. As her face scrunched in concentration, she remembered saying something about... did she really talk about chipmunk robots on ice? She must have been really out of it to say something as nonsensical as that; maybe she could blame it on too much hanging around with Fred.

  


Cordelia wrinkled her forehead; there had been something else. Her mind was a fog but she could almost swear she'd been climbing an icy slope to get to some castle, all aglow. Sitting up again, she grasped her head with both hands and winced. She was quickly developing a migraine to kill all migraines. For some reason, her brain felt like it was being ripped right out of her skull, as it had on her birthday.

  


She paused, trying to clear her head and frowned. The visions weren't supposed to hurt anymore because she was a demon now. Or, had someone forgotten? But, oh yeah, she hadn't had a vision; it had only been a dream.

  


Only, it had been more like a freakish horror story. Of what, she couldn't remember at all. If her current mood was any indication, she'd just experienced one doozy of a nightmare. Deciding that she needed to dig out some of the old pain medication, she stumbled towards the door. As she stepped into the hallway, she collided with something large and not very soft. Sprawling on the floor, she started mustering a half-hearted, indignant complaint but stopped quickly when she felt a more agonizing throbbing in her head.

  


"Whoa there, sweet-face," said a slightly lyrical male voice. Cordelia felt something lift her from underneath her arms. The disembodied voice continued, "Sweet-pea?" A brief pause ensued, followed by a less certain, "Cordelia?"

  


Cordelia swayed a bit and focused on the body the voice seemed to belong to. "Lor-Lorne?" she asked, tilting her head and peering at him with one eye closed.

  


The green, horned ex-Host smiled, but it was a grim smile. "Whooo, you gotta lay off the booze, hun." Then, a little more gently, he said, "Come on now. Let's get you to lie down in bed and rest those brain cells." Cordelia gratefully leaned on his profferred arm and headed back into the room. Lorne moved slowly and soothingly said, "Now, if you wait here, we'll just get Angel to come up..."

  


"No!" the force of her own exclamation startled her, but she was glad to see that it was shaking herself of the mind fog. "No," she repeated more calmly. "Angel doesn't need to know about this. Lorne, I mean it." she said firmly as she saw the demon open his mouth to protest.

  


"Don't you think Angel would want to know?" Lorne asked gently. "Of course he would. You know that you and the little tyke mean the world to him. If something's bothering you, he would need to know. You shouldn't keep the hurt from him anymore."

  


"I said no," Cordelia cut in, determinedly. "I saw how worried Angel was on my birthday. I know the lengths that Angel went to take away the pain. But I'm fixed now. The Powers that Be demonized and fixed me. I'm okay. I can do this. Besides, " Cordelia pointed out rationally, "Connor should be his number one concern now. He shouldn't have to worry about the rest of us. Least of all, his Seer." She smiled widely, thought not convincingly, for Lorne's benefit. "See, I'm all better."

  


Lorne sighed, feeling like a redundant counselor. So much for keeping the lines of communication wide open. This whole recurring theme was getting pretty tiresome but obviously no one was listening. He would never understand these strange creatures he was spending so much time with. "Okay. But you're getting this checked out by real professionals, alright?" he said sternly. Or as sternly as Lorne could make it sound.

  


Cordelia took a deep breath and nodded. Then she cautiously went downstairs into the lobby. No one was around so she headed for the hotel doors. Just as she was about to escape, Angel entered the lobby, carrying Connor.

  


"Good morning, sunshine!" he called out to her, cheerfully. Cordelia turned, too preoccupied with maintaining her calm facade to be shocked by the carefree greeting from a normally broody Angel. Focusing her attention, her mind registered that she should be even more surprised that Angel had foregone his usual black attire for a beige shirt and an equally light pair of beige pants.

  


Without prompting from her. 

  


"And still looking really hot." she added in her mind. She would have reflected on that thought a bit more if it wasn't for intense hammering to her brain. All she could really think of at that moment was getting out before Angel noticed her rapidly slipping composure.

  


"So, you gonna eat breakfast with us or what?" he asked casually, as he sat on the sofa and set Connor down on one knee.

  


Before Cordelia could even consider using an excuse, Wesley walked in. Taking advantage of the distraction, she smiled brightly and quickly said, "Uh, actually I feel kinda grubby. So I think I'll call in a bath date with my trusty ghost and loofah." Dismayed at the words that came out and the expression on Wesley's face, she stuttered, giggling slightly, "Oh...uh...I think that came out wrong." With a hasty goodbye, she turned on her heel and nearly tripped out of the hotel.

  


Wesley stared at her with a puzzled look. He swiveled back, saying, "I don't think I've ever seen Cordy so...wrinkly... or wear the same clothes twice in a r-" and then stopped, upon seeing Angel's pained look. The English man grimaced in sympathy, his mouth rounding into a silent "oh." Deciding not to comment on Angel's light attire, as the vampire seemed, otherwise, his usual self, Wesley silently proceeded towards the sanctity of his office.

  


Angel continued to stare at the double doors of the Hyperion. He felt frustrated. Rejected. Connor started fussing, so he absentmindedly lifted his son to his chest as he replayed the last few minutes when Cordy had practically run out the door. What had he done wrong this time? She had never before seemed more anxious to leave his presence. It almost certainly had something to do with their having fallen asleep together and spending the night sleeping in his bed. He looked down at his outfit, feeling faintly ridiculous, and felt the urge to fall back on his old habits; to lock himself in his room and muse in the dark over the past several hours. With sudden insight, he growled, recalling her pale, drawn face and the dark shadows circling underneath her eyes. She hadn't looked like that since her visions had stopped hurting her. With a glower, he spoke aloud, to no one in particular, "She's hiding it from me again."

  


~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


**A Diner, January 22, 2002**

  


At a local diner, not far from the Hyperion, Fred and Gunn sat opposite each other, enjoying a satisfying, if not healthy, breakfast. The tall vampire hunter watched, immensely amused, as his brown-haired companion wolfed down her second plate of pancakes.

  


"Say, girl, you trying for thirds?" he asked teasingly, as she finished the last bite. She lifted her head at him, her doe brown eyes wide and quizzical. Then she looked down and saw that his first plate was still heaping with scrambled eggs and sausages.

  


"Oh, I think I might be done." she replied shyly, ducking her head sideways.

  


The embarrassment appparent on her face suddenly reminded Gunn of the innocence his sister had possessed when she'd been younger. Before the whole vampire hunting and killing had started; when she had still been alive. He pushed the depressing memories out of his head and returned his attention to the young woman sitting opposite him.

  


"Hey," he said, patting her slender hand. "I was just teasing, you know. 'Sides, I like seeing a girl with a healthy appetite like yours. Most girls, they'd be pecking their food like they're birds or something. It's refreshing to see a girl enjoying a fine meal... Not that you need to worry about nothing." he added, acknowledging her candle-slim frame.

  


"Actually, I think it's cuz my metabolism is super efficient so everything I eat just burns away. When I was younger, I used to calculate the calories I burned and figured how much I needed to eat to keep my energy up. I have to eat a lot or I get really lethargic and -," Fred broke off, as she saw Gunn shaking his head and grinning from ear-to-ear. "I'm babbling again, aren't I? I can't seem to stop talking sometimes..." She trailed off, nervously looking down.

  


"Hey," Gunn said again, this time more soothingly. "I like hearing you talk. You're not like most girls who just obsess about the way they look. You think about more important things, smart stuff." He paused as he observed a big smile creep up on Fred's face. "You're one of a kind, Fred." He said softly. "And I think that's real cool."

  


Fred blushed at the compliment and focused on his plate again. "Are you gonna finish that?" she blurted out. When she realized what she just said, she shut her mouth quickly. Why had she said that? She hadn't known what to say so she just said the first thing that came to mind. Why couldn't it have been a simple 'Thank you'? She had never been a connoisseur at social and conversational skills, and five years away from human civilization hadn't helped. However, she thought she had been improving as of late, since she had emerged from her timid shell. Instead, she was scaring off perfectly nice guys. Mentally scolding herself, she squirmed in her seat and started chewing on her lower lip. He would probably never want to eat with her again.

  


Only, he surprised her by pushing the plate to the center of the table between them. "Yeah," he replied, with a twinkle in his eyes, "But only if you help me." She looked up again and marveled at the fact that she hadn't frightened him away. They exchanged grins and ate in companionable silence.

  


That is, until a loud commotion startled them. Gunn craned his neck towards the noise while Fred turned and peered over the back of her seat. A red-haired waitress with her back to them was gesticulating wildly and pointing to the diner's door. She moved to the side, revealing a blonde woman sitting on a barstool with crossed arms and an unhappy pout. When the door of the diner opened, the blonde woman flipped her hair over the shoulder of her leather jacket and said a cross word to the waitress. With a glare and the wave of her fist, the waitress left her to serve the new customers. Gunn got up out of the booth.

  


"Kate?" he exclaimed, striding over to her. Fred quickly got up and followed. The tall man walked around to face the woman on the stool. "What are you doing here?"

  


The blonde woman looked up at him coolly and seeing the look of recognition on his face, asked, "Do I know you?"

  


Fred watched a flinch momentarily pass over Gunn's usually calm face as she smelled the alcohol on the woman's breath. 'Who was she?' Fred wondered and placed a hand on his arm. "Charles?" she queried quietly, "Are you alright?"

  


At that moment, the waitress returned with a frown, demanding, "What are you still doing here? I told you to get out!"

  


The blonde regarded them carefully, then smirked. "So, if you know me so well, aren't you going to get me out of here?"

  


By the expression on Gunn's face, Fred realized that he didn't like her very much. He pursed his lips slightly before tossing a few bills on the counter and pulling Kate out of the diner.

  


Fred scrambled after them, taking one last glance at their unfinished breakfast.

  


~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


**Cordelia's place, January 22, 2002**

  


Back in the comfort of her own home and after swallowing a few painkillers from leftover prescription bottles, Cordelia let out a serene sigh. Languidly leaning back in her bath tub, she swiped at the bath bubbles that were practically spilling over the sides. While she relaxed, two cucumber slices floated over to her and were deposited on her eyes.

  


"Thanks, Dennis." Cordelia sighed again blissfully, grateful that the pain of her massive migraine had finally subsided. She'd been slightly worried about taking her old medication again, but now that she felt more like her normal self, she let the worries slide away. She felt a breeze leave the bathroom and heard the door close shut, signalling that the ghost had left the bathroom.

  


All alone to reflect on what she'd been avoiding to think about, she lifted both arms to the sides of the tub. She breathed deeply, inhaling the smell of lavender and roses surrounding her. Unbidden, memories of the previous night surfaced in her mind. She thought about feeding Connor and consciously decided that it was a safe topic to dwell on.

  


Smiling, she recalled how much he had grown and how he had the ability to twist everyone, including her, around his little finger, without so much as a gurgle. How strange it was that caring for him, "mothering" him, came so naturally for her. Sometimes, she would spend hours with him, watching his tiny mouth forming in little pouts as he slept, melting in response when his eyes widened with delight when she paid attention to him, and feeling his tiny hand tightly grasping her fingers whenever she held him. She couldn't help wishing, painfully, that he really belonged to her; that she was his real mother. But that opened up so many issues that she didn't want to think about at that moment. 

  


Nope, not going there, she reprimanded herself.

  


Unwittingly, she started to think about when she'd gotten impregnated with a rapidly growing demon spawn. Granted, she wouldn't have lived, had she "given birth." Despite her relief over not having to deal with those consequences, she caught herself considering it. As well as how far off her life had taken her from the naive little plans she'd made when she had been in Sunnydale. What had she been thinking, 'home, hotel, hotel, husband'? Cordelia winced, unsettled by the turn of her reverie.

  


Alright, she said to herself, steer away from the depressing thoughts. Think happy ones. Think about Connor again. And her mind happily went back to thinking about her precious baby. He was going to grow up to be such a handsome little demon, so charming and strong. So like his father. Her thoughts drifted lazily to Angel and the previous night.

  


Okay, that was so NOT a safe topic. Perturbed again, she ordered herself to stop brooding about her "just-a-friend" and to ponder about other things. But it was too late. Like many times before, her mind refused to obey her bidding. 

  


Maybe he was rubbing off on her. 

  


Wrinkling her forehead slightly, she gave in and let herself remember how close she'd felt to him. And she had only slept beside him. It had been so long since she'd felt this close to anyone. Who was she trying to fool? It was the first time she had ever felt that close to anyone, period. She had never had real friends before, at least none who truly cared for her well-being. And she had certainly never been friends, not to mention, best friends, with a man before. Especially not one as perfect for her as Angel.

  


There. In the privacy of her own head, she could admit that even if she couldn't act on it. And wouldn't.

  


For the first time in her life, she had someone who didn't objectify, but respected her; who cared about and protected her. Who let her be the mother figure for his child. And who maybe even loved her in a very platonic, "forever-best-pals" sort of way. 

  


Or was it more?

  


Shaking her head, she told herself to end the wishful dreaming. He was her confidante, and to think of him as anything but a big brother type would jeopardize their current relationship. Plus, he couldn't and wouldn't ever think of her in that way. The temperamental situation with his soul was obviously the biggest roadblock to that ever happening, not to mention the fact that he was not boyfriend, much less husband, material. Regardless, she knew she'd stick by him until he experienced his shanshu because she had promised him. 

  


Only, he had never made the promise to stay with her. Especially not after he regained his humanity. Nor would she ever expect him to. She was well aware of where his heart lay. Where it would always remain. Without a doubt, as soon as he got the green light for a permanent soul, he would cash in a one-way ticket back to Sunnydale. And probably without even a backwards glance at his life here in L.A. with the team. With her.

  


Cordelia's lurched at the thought. It must have been the painkillers, she reasoned. She really shouldn't have taken the full dosage, since her body obviously wasn't coping well with it. What else could it be? Of course she didn't care whether Angel would stay with her or not. She understood his feelings very well. Ever since they had started working together in L.A. she always knew what he was feeling. It was always a given that he would return to the one great love of his life.

  


And the idea of that was almost more than she wanted to bear. The reality of it would mean that she would be by herself again, with no one to turn to. She would feel empty again, as she had for 17 long years. She stared at the bubbles in front of her, realizing her fatal mistake. Angrily wondering how it all went wrong.

  


But that didn't mean she couldn't let a naughty, unreasonable little corner of her brain pretend that it wasn't all that wrong. That the tiny glimmer of an impossible dream could happen.

  


Cordelia let the illusions roll over her. Why shouldn't she indulge a bit and delude herself that it could be real? That she could have him. That someone as wonderful as him would want her. She could imagine that his heart would do a funny flip-flop every time he rested those deep, soulful eyes on hers. That he would live and die and breathe for only her. Or that, the Powers That Be forbid, he could and would be in love with her.

  


Entranced, the minty fragrance of lavender travelled up her arms, stroking her gently. She felt it swirl around her neck, entangling in her hair. The scent of roses hit her senses and she envisioned rose petals falling on her shoulders, caressing her arms and her breasts, kissing the hollow of her throat. As they lightly brushed her lips, she felt the soft kisses and involuntarily moved eagerly to respond.

  


Her arm slipped from the side of the tub and splashed in the water. The cucumber slices fell from her face, uncovering her eyes.

  


The air was cold. The bubbles were gone. And she was alone again.

  


~~X~~X~~ * ~~X~~X~~

  


A/N: Going full steam ahead on this one.   
Disclaimers: Nope, still not mine. 

  


(c) February 2002, updated March 16, 2002   
  
Liked this story? Check out my other fanfics at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=169482   
Thanks for reading! 


	3. Floating a Nuisance Call

**Waking Up From the Past**  
Chapter 2: Floating a Nuisance Call

by Hollywood Phoenix

  


Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.   
Spoilers: 3rd season ep. "Provider"  
So far: Angel and Cordelia woke up after falling asleep together. Cordelia had a nightmare, developed a really painful headache, and went home for some R&R. Angel brooded in light coloured clothing, Lorne played guidance counselor, and Wesley wisely holed up in his office. All while Fred and Gunn enjoyed a fine breakfast at the local diner. Oh, and Kate popped up for a bit too. 

~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


**The Hyperion Hotel, January 22, 2002**

  


Wesley Wyndham-Pryce sat at his desk in his office at Angel Investigations. Scattered around him on the desk were masses of books and papers; there were so many, the desk's surface was completely obscured. Despite his seemingly fussy demeanor, he was exceedingly untidy. He knew that he should really clean up his mess, but at the moment, he had more important things to consider.

  


Holding his hand over the phone, he paused. Most likely he would get shot down. After all, he always did. Maybe it was time to forego the whole experience; avoid the hurt and confusion which would ensue.

  


Out of self-disgust, Wesley stiffened his upper lip. This would not do. Almost a year as the head honcho and he still couldn't manage a simple phone call. Determinedly, he gripped the phone and picked it up. The next second, it was back on the hook.

  


Sometimes he loathed his lack of backbone.

  


"Sometimes I hate it too." a voice broke in smoothly. Wesley looked up and saw Lorne leaning against the doorjamb, one leg crossed over the other. Half embarrassed, the other half peeved, Wesley looked away.

  


"If you don't try calling the girl, you'll never know." Lorne said, "We have a saying back in Pylea..."

  


"Well, we're not in bloody Pylea, are we?" Wesley broke in, impatiently.

  


"Keep up an attitude like yours, and you'll never get her." Lorne smirked. "She spent five years there. So most of it was spent in a cave fearing for her life. Some of her time there must have meant something."

  


Wesley sighed, slouching in his chair. He looked up and almost laughed at the irony. Almost. "I was trying to call my father."

  


"Yeah, sure." Lorne shrugged and turned away. "Whatever makes you feel good about yourself."

  


***

  


**Cordelia's place, January 22, 2002**

  


Cordelia walked around her apartment, a towel wrapped around her head, another one around her body. The clock in bedroom read 2:05 but she was in no mood to return to the Hyperion Hotel any time soon.

  


Dennis floated a few items of clothing in front of her as she walked into the kitchen. A red silky shirt. A black chiffon blouse. A slinky purple top. Ignoring him, she headed to her cupboard and pulled out a box of crackers.

  


Leaning against the counter, she opened the box, took out a cracker and started munching in thoughtful silence. Giving up, the clothes floated back towards her bedroom.

  


When Dennis returned, Cordelia was still lost in her thoughts.

  


The unseen phantom was having a hard time determining exactly what was putting her in such a funk. Since her visions had stopped hurting her, she would usually return from a long day or night of work, tired and dirty, grab a quick shower and then head right back out again, looking for the next adventure.

  


But if he had to put an invisible finger on it, he would guess it had to do with a certain unnaturally broody vampire.

  


Not that he minded. Dennis knew the realities of his situation. Sure, he would be eternally grateful that Cordelia was willing to share her humble abode with him, pun intended. She was his ideal companion; funny, smart and an adept one-person conversationalist, she also knew the art of getting him to do things for her without making it seem like a chore. It didn't hurt that she was a real looker either. But she was alive. And very solid.

  


It wasn't as if he disliked the vampire. Hell, if he could choose to come back as someone else, he'd come back as the dark Angel, cursed soul or not. After all, it would be the only way to ensure that Cordelia would really stick around.

  


Those living solids were so thick sometimes.

  


A loud crunch caught the ghost's attention. Cordelia was chewing more furiously now, still not focusing on him or her surroundings. She frowned, put her box of crackers down, and then padded back out into her living room.

  


Suddenly, she stiffened. Dennis sensed her distress and moved towards her, not knowing what he could do to help.

  


Cordy threw back her head slightly as a barrage of new images bombarded her mind. Her SAT scores. The blinding sun. Spike, in his game face, cornering a lady in a shop. Willow being taken with Xander. Spike mocking Buffy and Angel.

  


She opened her eyes again and saw the ceiling, realizing that she had actually closed them when her latest vision hit. Her head wasn't hurting, and she sighed with relief. Then, her eyes widened when she realized that she wasn't standing anymore.

  


She was in fact floating 3 feet off the ground.

  


Almost delirious with delight, she reveled in this new sensation. This had happened right after she had been demonized, but not after that. For a while, she had consciously tried to float off the ground again, but the more she concentrated, the more frustrated she became. She gave up, attributing it to a one-time fluke.

  


But now, it was happening again!

  


Analyzing this new situation, she noticed that she was in a different position than last time. This time, she was floating length-wise parallel to the ground. When a breeze flew past her, she giggled. "Dennis," she shouted between giggles. "Will you stop your pacing, already? This is fantastic!"

  


As she felt the air around her warm up again, the initial fascination wore off and she started thinking about how she should get back to the ground. She couldn't really remember that last time, since she hadn't been thinking too clearly. However, if she wasn't mistaken, one minute she had been floating, and the next, she was back on solid ground again.

  


She closed her eyes and mid-air, clicked her heels three times. She opened her eyes again and looked around. No luck. "Silly... you tried that before. That never works." she chided herself.

  


The minutes kept ticking away. Cordelia was getting bored. Lifting her arms, she tried waving them around, hoping to swim mid-air or at least move somewhere. Still, she didn't budge an inch. A little peeved, she flapped her arms more vigorously. The towel around her head fell to the ground.

  


"Think," she ordered herself. "There's got to be a way around this." But she couldn't think of anything.

  


She giggled again, a little more hysterically this time. "This is so ridiculous," she sighed. "I'm feeling so stupid just floating here and I can't think of a single way to get out of this. To make things worse, I look a mess."

  


She paused, then spoke to the air, "But, you're not telling anyone, right Dennis?" In response, the phone went off the hook. Cordy shook her head.

  


"Dennis, this is my problem. I'm going to fix this" she said determinedly.

  


The phone was replaced on the hook again, and she breathed an inward sigh of relief. But remembering that she was still stuck in limbo, the feeling didn't last long. She stared at the ceiling and started counting invisible cracks.

  


***

  


**The Hyperion Hotel, January 22, 2002**

  


Gunn and Fred entered the Hyperion Hotel together, having just dropped Kate off outside her apartment building. Fred had been silent during the drive to Kate's apartment, much to Gunn's chagrin and discomfort. However, as soon as Kate had gotten out of the car, her natural demeanor returned and pretty quickly, she had started prattling again.

  


Gunn had tried to remain engaged in their conversation, but he couldn't help feeling a smidgeon guilty over running away from Kate like that. True, he didn't particularly like her, since she had never bothered to say so much as a hello to him when she had hung out with the gang. And he couldn't imagine her batting one of her pretty eyelashes to get him out of a jam. Besides, she hadn't asked him to help her with anything other than getting her out of the diner. Which he had. If there was one thing Charles Gunn knew and lived by, it was to keep his nose clean and out of other people's troubles when it wasn't called for.

  


But, remembering the smell of alcohol lingering on her clothes and breath, the tough exterior she put up to cover her underlying confusion, and the fact that she couldn't remember her address until she looked in her wallet, the guilty feeling refused to go away.

  


He felt a light touch on his arm. Fred was looking up at him expectantly, a worried frown marring her delicate face. He automatically smiled at her reassuringly and gently covered the hand on his arm with his own. She searched his face a second longer, and then brightly smiled back at him. It was a lopsided smile, but it was so refreshingly _her_ that he remained rooted on the spot, knowing he probably looked like a moron.

  


For once, Gunn didn't care about that at all.

  


The sound of footsteps behind him caused Gunn to turn around. Wesley was coming out of his office, reading an open book and softly muttering to himself. Fred's hand fell from his arm as he felt her step away from him. Gunn looked back to where Fred had been standing and noticed her shuffling towards the stairs. He silently watched her as she skipped up the stairs, her hand sliding lightly over the staircase rail. When he heard Wesley give a startled, "Oh, hello there," he held his breath for a moment.

  


She paused at the voice, looked out into the lobby, and gave them both a shy smile.

  


***

  


**Cordelia's place, January 22, 2002**

  


Cordelia had never been more bored in her life. 

  


She didn't know how long she had been just floating in her living room, but she didn't care. She had tried everything she could think of, including getting Dennis to douse water on her but nothing had gotten her back on the ground again.

  


She had run out of options.

  


Turning her head towards her window, she noticed that the sun was just about to fade into sunset. Feeling Dennis' disapproval around her, she said one word, "No."

  


Silence was his response.

  


She restated for the fifth time that day, "I'm not calling for help."

  


A cold breeze whizzed past. In only her bath towel, she shivered. "Angel would be here in a second." the breeze seemed to say.

  


It's not a choice, she reminded herself.

  


She looked around the room, trying to focus on something to keep her mind occupied. Outside her apartment, she heard laughing voices and immediately recognized one of them as belonging to her new blond neighbour, Dave. He was cute, funny, helpful when Angel wasn't loitering around her place, and attended classes at the nearby college three days a week.

  


An all-round yummy prospect for her, if she was so inclined for a treat. But for some reason, she wasn't. She settled on envying him.

  


Every time she ran into him, he told her amusing anecdotes about his nutty professors, his blustering classmates, and the college life. With a pang, she realized that she was missing out on an important milestone. She had gotten amazing SAT scores and been accepted to her choice schools. Plus, she had always liked school. Alright, she admitted, she had lorded over her school, but partaking in a good education had been her right from day one. Just like her looks, Queen C status, and family money, she had taken them for granted and used them well.

  


But with the exception of her looks, they'd been whisked away.

  


Then again, she mused wryly, running her hand through her now dry, very uncombed hair, maybe that was gone too. What happened to her perpetually good hair days?

  


And she sunk into mild depression.

  


Snap out of it, she reprimanded herself. Quit with the broody and think of pleasant things.

  


But her mind wandered back to her high SAT scores. She remembered being very pleased with them, as well as the look of surprise that had crossed Xander's face when he had snatched her score out of her hands and taken a peek at them. He had made a joke, as usual, and in his adorable Xander-like fashion, had put himself down. But an unmistakeable look of pride had shone in his eyes.

  


Cordy probed her memory deeper, remembering that Willow and Buffy had also been there. As she recalled, Buffy had gotten a pretty high score as well. And Willow had been in bad spirits because she didn't score perfectly. She remembered the nervous way that Xander and Willow fluttered around each other that day.

  


On second thought, he hadn't been all that adorable. That two-timing skunk had probably been hung up over that red-headed fashion nightmare already.

  


Cordy sighed. So much for thinking happy thoughts. She shrugged, chalking it up to one weird day. She'd woken up with a massive hangover-like headache and ended up floating in the middle of her living room for practically the entire day. And all that without even the help of a little magic or flying carpet.

  


A thought was niggling her brain. There had been something else... she'd also had a vision. But, remembering the setting of her vision, she was confused. Her visions were supposed to only show her possible future events. Not the past. And, she huffed to herself, Buffy and Angel being in the same room, much less the same city, was very much in the past.

  


That's when she felt herself falling.

  


The next minute, she was sprawled on the floor, the towel amazingly still wrapped tightly around her body. Stunned at her new position, she gaped at the ceiling in the middle of her floor.

  


It was then that the phone went off its hook and a familiar number was dialed.

  


***

  


**The Hyperion Hotel, January 22, 2002**

  


The sun had just set outside the Hyperion. Curtains in a room upstairs billowed from the gentle breeze filtering through an open window. Angel paced, agitated. One look and it was clear he had a lot on his mind. As ever, he was clueless as to how to express it all. Eventually he stopped his nervous fidgeting and opened his mouth.

  


"Cordy, look. I'm just going to come right out and say it." He began, placing his hands on his hips. "We've been friends for a long time. We've learned to work together. Or so I thought. I can't understand why you keep shutting me out like this. We all want you to be a functioning part of the Angel Investigations team. If you keep doing this, you're not working with us, but against us." He turned, facing his audience. "Am I making myself clear?"

  


The only response he got was Connor's wide-eyed stare looking back at him.

  


Angel let out some pent-up air, which resulted in a half-sigh, half-growl. "Okay, change tactic." He started his pacing again. "Cordy, over the last few years, I've gotten closer to you, and in ways I've never imag-, uh, experienced before. So you'll understand that we're concerned about you. We want to help you, even if we have to tear through every post office or shopping mall to find The Powers That Be and get them to take back the visions. Because no way are we letting them hurt you, much less kill you." He turned back to Connor's silent observing look. "How's that?"

  


Clapping broke the silence and Angel immediately knew who'd been listening. "Lorne," he said, annoyed. "This was a private discussion."

  


"Sure it was," the green demon grinned, humouring him. "But I give you a 9 on takeoff for the barely restrained passion and 2 for what's going to be your sorry carcass on the landing." He put his hands up and braced himself as Angel growled loudly and started towards him. "Okay, okay, how about a 10+ for the passion and no comments on what Cordelia will do to your hiney?"

  


Angel opened his mouth to respond, when his cell phone rang insistently. He flipped it open and started to say a greeting, when he heard an irate female voice on the other end.

  


"Dennis!" it shrieked, "how could you?" Then he heard a crash and the frighteningly dull ring of the dial tone.

  


~~X~~X~~ * ~~X~~X~~

  


A/N: Hi, finally got this one out. It's longer than I first envisioned, but it's doing what I want it to. :) When I'm coherent again, I'll revise it and the previous chapters (spelling mistakes that I missed are bugging me!) Anyway, please R&R!   
Disclaimers: Nope, still not mine. 

  


(c) March 13, 2002   
  
Liked this story? Check out my other fanfics at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=169482   
Thanks for reading! 


	4. There's No Place Like...

**Waking Up From the Past**  
Chapter 3: There's No Place Like ...

by Hollywood Phoenix

  


Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.   


~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


**Cordelia's place, January 22, 2002**

  


She figured it would take him five minutes to get to her door. Knowing the lengths he would go to break every natural and man-created law to arrive just in time, she had it estimated to the second. After all, traffic officers seemed to magically not exist when emergency situations called for a little hero zipping around town.

  


But she was wrong.

  


Because it took him less than three.

  


Sprawled on the floor still, but in a different position directly in front of the phone, Cordelia heard his car drive up in front of her building, imagined him not bothering with the car door and leaping over the passenger seat, listened to the increasingly loud and frantic sounds of his footfalls pounding on the pavement. Then there was only an insistent banging on the door.

  


She didn't know whether she should be highly amused that she had him pegged so well or highly annoyed for the exact same reason.

  


She decided to be pissed off.

  


Before she could un-invite his unwelcome body, the door was flung open by the invisible hand she was no longer speaking to. Immediately, he was at her side, disentangling her legs from the phone cord and lifting her easily in his arms.

  


"What happened?" Angel asked, obviously relieved that she wasn't being maimed or mauled by some evil demon.

  


She glared at him first, and then at the air. "Nothing, " she replied bitingly. "The phone and I just weren't agreeing with each other."

  


Taking in her messy hair, puffy eyes, and the fact that her towel was barely covering her thighs, he decided not to comment. He gently deposited her upright on the floor and averted his eyes.

  


But not before the towel started to fall.

  


She made a grab for it, under his startled gaze and hanging jaw, nearly sobbing a laugh out loud. How on earth had it managed to stay wrapped for hours when it didn't matter and then suddenly unravel when it did?

  


This just wasn't her day.

  


Holding one hand tightly on the edges in front of her, she shoved him towards the door with the other.

  


"Get out!" she ordered impetuously.

  


Seeing her angrier than she had ever been, he almost complied. Then, remembering his practiced lecture and fears, he stiffened his resolve and crossed his arms, not saying anything.

  


She stared up at his stubborn face and almost forgave him for everything she was feeling.

  


Huffing, she turned on her heel, headed into her bedroom, and slammed the door so hard, the walls jarred.

  


Angel looked up into the air and grinned. "Rough night, huh?"

  


A light flickered in response.

  


***

  


**The Hyperion Hotel, January 23, 2002**

  


Fred was tip-toeing around the hotel lobby, balancing a book on top of her head. Gunn was playing with one of the sabres they had acquired from a warrior demon earlier that week. Wesley was still walking around with his open book, researching about demons they had yet to encounter. He didn't understand why no one else was taking this preparation time between cases seriously.

  


When a tall blonde women pushed her way into the hotel in the dead of night, they finally looked up.

  


"Kate." all three of them said at once. All with different tones in their voices.

  


Wesley was the first to come around to greet her. "How are you?" he greeted cordially, as Gunn stared at the weapon in his hand with fascination and Fred took everything in. He gestured to the seat in the middle of the lobby. "Have a seat, why don't you?"

  


Kate didn't move from her position at the counter. "I'm fine standing," she replied curtly. Shifting one foot uncomfortably, she stuck her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. "I take it you know me as well."

  


Wesley was taken aback for a moment. "Why, yes," he responded, frowning. He turned and looked questioningly at Gunn. "Gunn and I both do." Turning towards Fred, he added with a forced enthusiasm, "But you haven't met Fred here. Or the other newest additions to Angel Inves-".

  


"So you guys investigate weird happenings, right?" Kate cut in. "I found a card in your truck," she explained, looking at Gunn, "and kept it. I've been asking around... and you guys apparently deal with all sorts of strange stuff. Things that can't be explained." Everyone heard the underlying panic in her voice.

  


"Of course," Wesley reassured her, steering her towards the center lobby seat. Her back still stiff, she sat down on the sofa and he sat beside her. For a long moment, the four remained silent. Wanting to clear his conscience, Gunn broke in.

  


"Wes," he started, "Fred and I saw her earlier today." Wesley looked up at him, curiously. Gunn looked at her and continued, "She didn't seem to remember things about her life. Like who I am, who Angel and Cordy or you are, not even where she lived."

  


"Is that true?" Wesley asked her gently. Kate was staring straight ahead, not focusing on anything.

  


She took a deep breath and nodded. "Last night, I was on the trail of a serial killer in Vegas. All of a sudden, there was this wave and I woke up in the dead of night in a park in L.A. When I got back home, I found myself unable to unlock my front door and get into my apartment." She paused to take a deep breath. The three other people waited patiently until she continued.

  


"So I went back to the precinct, thinking that I must have caught the guy or something. Only, I find that I'm not a cop anymore. My old friends don't want to talk to me and my dad's dead. That was when I found out what day, what year it was. The last date that I remember is November 18, 1998. Well, I thought I was going crazy, so I went a bit overboard and got a little drunk, thinking I'd just wake up. But it wasn't helping and I thought I'd grab some coffee to sober up. That's when I saw you guys." She leaned forward a bit and covered her face with her hands, "I don't remember anything that happened since November 18, 1998. I'm not just missing a day or a few months. I'm missing years." She broke off, a rarely seen scared expression on her face. "What's happening here? What's happened to me?"

  


Fred's heart went out to her while she listened to Kate's story. It was triggering memories of when she had first arrived in Pylea, and how frightened and alone she felt. And she could relate to missing out on several years of her life. She watched as Gunn and Wesley exchanged silent glances. Seeing that they didn't have any idea how to begin helping her, much less comfort her, she pushed forward and sat down on the other side of the blonde woman. "We don't know yet." she said softly. Then jutting her chin out, she finished confidently, "But we're going to help you find out."

  


***

  


**Cordelia's place, January 22, 2002**

  


An hour and a half later, and Cordy still hadn't emerged from her room.

  


Angel sprang up from her sofa and started pacing around the living room impatiently. He hadn't heard a peep from her since she had slammed the door of her room in his face, but he could hear the normal beating of her heart, so he figured she was still alright. Besides, he didn't exactly look forward to ticking her off again. He knew that if he tried knocking on her door, he would do just that. And leaving her alone again was not an option.

  


So, he would have to figure out another way to pass the time.

  


"Dennis," he called out nonchalently. "How've you been?"

  


Silence ensued.

  


Angel let his shoulders fall. "I know, probably not the best entrance to make tonight. But I heard the crash. How did I know you guys were just fighting for the phone?"

  


The light flickered. Angel took it as a sign of progression.

  


"I know her visions are hurting her again. Is she back on the medication?" he asked. The lights flickered once in response.

  


Dennis picked up a pen and piece of paper and started writing a message.

  


"Her visions are making her float." Angel read, as the words were formed. He looked up. "You mean, floating in mid-air?" The lights flickered once.

  


Suddenly the door opened, and Cordy appeared in the doorway. Judging from the expression on her face, she still was displeased. Her hair was pushed back into a short ponytail, with wisps dangling on the back of her neck, and she was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and jeans. Lately, this was becoming her costume of choice.

  


"Cordy," he said, getting up. He went for the firm approach. "You need to pack some things. You're staying with me for the next while."

  


She looked at him and glared. If looks could kill, he'd be dust. "I'm not going with you." she said stubbornly. "Besides I'm not even packed yet."

  


A packed overnight bag floated in front of her nose and dropped to the floor with a thud. Angel grinned as the annoyance and slight betrayal flittered across Cordy's face.

  


"Argh!" she just exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Why do I even bother?" Stomping, she retrieved her coat as Angel picked up her bag. He held the door for her on the way out. She sailed out of her apartment without saying goodbye to her roommate. 

  


Angel glanced back at the air and smiled, "Thanks, Dennis. Trust me, I'll take care of her."

  


As the door closed behind him, he could have sworn that he heard, "I know," answered back.

  


***

  


**The Hyperion Hotel, January 22, 2002**

  


When they got back to the hotel, the first thing that Cordelia did was stomp upstairs, lugging her bag with her. Angel followed her into the hotel silently. No one was in the lobby except Gunn.

  


Gunn opened his mouth first. "Bro, see you're losing your coolness in your old age," he snickered a bit.

  


Angel gritted his teeth in frustration, "I don't think anyone can be cool around her."

  


Gunn smiled in sympathy. Angel looked around, noticing Fred and Wesley poring over books in his office. He detected another heartbeat. "Who's here? What's everyone doing?"

  


"We got a case." Gunn replied.

  


"With?" he asked the vampire hunter curiously.

  


"Kate." Gunn answered him.

  


At the sound of her name, Kate suddenly appeared in the lobby. Hearing their voices, Fred and Wesley had come out of the office as well. When he noticed the blonde woman, Angel gave a quick smile and walked closer to her. She made no effort to move closer to him.

  


"So, you know me too." she said. Angel noticed the peculiar way she was looking at him, plus the way she didn't ask it, but just stated it. Giving him an unguarded, appraising look, she continued, "You seem vaguely familiar, like someone I might have met in a club. Did we...?"

  


Three heads swiveled his way in curiosity. Angel fought the urge to squirm under the uncomfortable microscope. He opened his mouth to answer, but a faint scent of lavender made him turn around. Cordelia had come down the stairs and had apparently heard that last question. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Angel recognized the look on her face. He had only seen it one other time, and she had just learned that he'd spawned a miracle.

  


"No!" he exclaimed, desperately trying to wipe the look off his Seer's face. He turned back to Kate and said a little more calmly. "We're just friends."

  


Kate shrugged and crossed her arms. "So I really am alone. Tell me what kind of nightmare do I live in?" she muttered under her breath. Cordy smirked and rolled her eyes.

  


"Well I guess it's time we let you in on the case details," Wesley stepped in. He relayed to Cordelia and Angel what Kate had mentioned earlier. "Fred and I have gone over the books and we figure that her consciousness from three years ago must have swapped with the one from now. Luckily, we discovered a spell for this quite easily, so all we have to do is perform it on her." he concluded, holding up a thick book.

  


"How come everything can be solved with a magic spell?" Cordelia suddenly complained, with a little disbelief. Kate looked at her, alarmed.

  


"So you don't think it'll work?" she questioned. "Look, I don't believe in these things, like magic and demon spells, whatever. Maybe you should keep looking for another way." She turned to Gunn, "What do you think?"

  


Surprised, Gunn gave a tiny shrug, "Don't look at me. I'm the action man. Magic mumbo-jumbo's not my usual department." At Wesley's clenched jaw, he added quickly, "But I believe what I see. And I've seen enough of this to make me a true believer." Gunn whirled around towards Fred. She gave him a sympathetic smile.

  


Wesley let out an exasperated sigh, as everyone else remained mute. "Kate, this is the only way. Trust me, we've had a lot of practice solving these types of problems before." He said reassuringly, while sending Cordelia a glare.

  


"I didn't mean that it wouldn't work." Cordelia sniffed, defensively. "I just meant that we always resolve problems with magic spells. Or a whoosh-whoosh-kill, now the demon's dead? Nothing seems to be all that difficult or long. Don't get me wrong, I have a hard enough time figuring out or even listening to these solutions but it always seems like there's an obvious and simple explanation to everything and it's all wrapped up neatly."

  


"Like with a little red bow?" Fred offered helpfully. "Or with those pretty little ribbons that you curl? I always wondered the same thing."

  


Seeing the look of bewilderment on the three male faces, Cordelia backpedaled. "But, not to say that it's a bad thing. I mean, great, solve everything with a little twirl of your hand and some funny words. Okay, my bad. Next?" 

  


"Well, we're going to have to bring Kate back to the same spot she was in when she first arrived in this time period." Wesley said, clearing his throat. "She described it to us earlier while you two were still out; it's the one on Baker Street ---."

  


"Really?" Cordelia broke in, with a half smile. "I'm having a vision right now... we have to save two kids from these demons in that same park."

  


"Well, if that's not a sign..." Wesley said triumphantly, shooting a pointed look at Kate. Kate was staring at Cordelia with an "are you insane?" look on her face.

  


"What are the demons like?" Angel asked Cordy quietly.

  


"There are two of them. They're big and furry..." she said to him, squinting her eyes a bit in concentration. "... and probably haven't bathed in years. And they're doing some weird ritual?" Suddenly she grimaced in horror, "Oh, yuck, I think they're doing some mating thing. I can't believe I had to see that." She put both hands on her head, "Well what are you guys waiting for? Chop chop, or that's what those kids are going to look like if you don't hurry."

  


In response, Fred, Gunn, Wesley and Kate started to head out of the hotel. Cordelia noticed Angel's concerned face. "They're not going to be able to handle these demons without you. So go."

  


Angel took hold of her elbow. "You're coming too."

  


She moved her arm loose, "I'm not the one in trouble. So you can go."

  


Angel shook his head vehemently, "If you think I'm going to leave you alone, knowing that these visions are giving you trouble, hurting you..."

  


Cordelia got a sinking feeling. How did he find out about that? "But this one wasn't trouble. I'm not hurt now." she insisted.

  


"Maybe not, but I don't want to risk you getting another one that does and me not being there to help you." Angel said to her.

  


"Look, I'm not some spoiled rich kid who's just playing games here." she snapped at him. He stared at her, startled.

  


"What? Where did that come from?" he questioned her fiercely.

  


She looked up and saw the hurt on his face. Sighing, she gave up the fight and started walking towards the door. "Never mind." she muttered. "Let's just go help the others."

  


Angel gaped at her for a brief moment before following her to join the others.

  


***

  


**The park on Baker Street, January 23, 2002**

  


When they got to the park, the others had already located the two teenage kids and had their hands full with getting rid of the demons. The creatures were just as Cordelia had described, and judging from their smell, her assessment about their bathing habits was probably right. All this made it all the more difficult to defeat them. But with the addition of Angel and his battle-axe, one of the demons was soon lying motionless on the ground.

  


As soon as the other demon realized its mate was dead, it took off.

  


Wesley gave the others a wicked grin. "This one's mine." And he sped away in pursuit of the runaway demon.

  


Fred looked at the two kids, huddled at the base of a tree. "I guess we can take the kids home." Fred said, looking at Gunn. He nodded and together, they prodded the kids to leave with them.

  


"Well," Angel said, as he dropped his axe and picked up the thick book Wesley had brought with him. "I guess this means that I'll do the spell." He turned to Kate. "We probably need you to stand in the exact same spot you were in when you first came to in this time period."

  


Kate looked around, furrowing her brows. "There." she said, pointing between a clump of willowy trees. The remaining three headed towards the clump.

  


Cordy stood to one side, as Kate took her position. Angel read the incantation. Nothing happened.

  


Kate looked at Angel. "Maybe I read it wrong." he said with a frown. He repeated it. Still nothing happened.

  


Kate gave a sigh of frustration. "I should have known!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe I resorted to something like this." She stepped towards Cordelia. "Forget this. I'm finding some other, more sane approach."

  


It was at that moment the demon that got away leaped towards them.

  


With fangs baring, it landed right in front of Angel and knocked him over. The book went flying out of his hands. As Cordy watched in horror, it started ripping at his jacket.

  


"Hey!" a voice said behind her. Cordy looked up to see Kate wielding the axe. As the demon got up to face her, Kate quickly charged it. She lifted the axe and swung at the demon. As it sliced through its arm, the demon gave a pained screech. Surprised at the sudden high-pitched noise, Kate let the axe drop. The demon took its chance and with its good arm, slashed at her.

  


Suddenly, Cordelia saw Angel hugging her in a cemetery in Sunnydale. She watched as she fought him and ran away. Then she saw Faith straddling Angel, with a stake in her hand. She realized that she was bombarded with a new vision, and this time, her head was pounding again.

  


"No!" Cordelia screamed in terror. As her consciousness faded into oblivion, she saw one last image. It was that of Kate falling lifeless to the ground.

  


~~X~~X~~ * ~~X~~X~~

  


A/N: I realized how long I was taking in getting to the real meat of the story! I really do want to get this done by end of this season. ;) So if this is abrupt and not written as well as the previous chapters, sorry. I'll clean it up when I get the chance but yay! Next chapter, the plot unfolds and we get to the interesting more character-driven stuff.   
Disclaimers: Not mine. 

  


(c) March 24, 2002   
  
Liked this story? Check out my other fanfics at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=169482   
Thanks for reading! In pursuit of improvement and to keep the 'spirits' up, how about writing some feedback? 


	5. Waking Nightmares

**Waking Up From The Past**   
Chapter 4: Waking Nightmares   
  
Spoilers: 3rd season Angel ep 'Provider' and 3rd season Buffy   
So far: Cordy's having headaches after visions and floating! Angel's clueless as usual. Wesley is bashing his self-esteem. Fred is Fred and Gunn is cool as ever. Kate came in with a mystery of switched consciousness and promptly went away (leaving her body behind). Don't worry, more answers and questions abound in this chapter. A/N: Everyone who's reviewed this story so far, thanks for the great comments! 

**A park on Baker Street, January 23, 2002**

When Cordelia regained consciousness, she found Angel staring down at Kate's lifeless body. Other than a pained expression on his face, he seemed otherwise alright. Relieved that he and she were both intact, she jumped up quickly and ran towards him. Feeling him give a start and shrink from her touch, she gave him a puzzled look. Seeing the obvious hurt, she caved in her feelings and opened her arms to wrap around him.

And was still incredibly confused when he placed his hands on her shoulders and gracefully sidestepped her. 

As he backed away to escape her grasp, she gaped at him, her stomach in her throat. What was going on? "Angel? Are you okay?"

He looked at her with a blank expression. "I'm fine." he replied slowly. "But what am I doing here, Cordelia?" And did that thing kill her?" he gestured towards the dead creature and Kate, lying beside each other.

"Uhhhh, yeah." she replied. She scrunched her face in confusion. "Did that thing hit you on the head or something?" He shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about. When I saw it, it was already dead." he replied in a low voice. 

Cordy narrowed her eyes at him. Angel was acting strange. Instead of being comfortable with his surroundings, he had his head ducked and he was speaking in a hushed, conspiratorial voice. When he noticed her peering at him closely, he shuffled his feet nervously and started gravitating behind the shadow of a tree.

Suddenly, he spoke up, "Cordelia, you're probably not used to me being back."

"Back?" she repeated, not comprehending his train of thought.

"Look, I don't know what Buffy told you guys about me coming back from the hell dimension, but..." he looked around pensively, then asked, "Cordelia, where am I?"

Cordy's stomach fell with a thud. He had called her Cordelia with an unfamiliar tone in his voice three times now. He didn't know where he was. Not to mention that he had spoken the B-word in her presence. Worse, he had said it in that longing, sacred way she hadn't heard for a long time. Gazing at the perplexed and impassive way he was regarding her, she felt herself stop breathing. For the first time since she could remember, she felt tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall.

Straightening up, she took a deep breath. Before he could dance away from her again, she grabbed his arm and yanked him towards the black car she fondly dubbed the Angel-mobile. "Come on," she told him through her blurred vision, "We have to find Wesley... now!"

***

**A park on an unknown street, November 18, 1998 (Third season Buffy!)**

Angel whirled around, having just dispatched the demon. All of a sudden, blue waves surrounded him and his eyesight became unfocused. When he got his bearings again, he didn't immediately recognize his surroundings. Ignoring the white spots he was seeing in his sight, his thoughts swept to Cordelia, but he couldn't see her anywhere. Looking around, he noticed that he was in another part of the park, and there was no sight of his Seer, Kate or the demon he had just killed.

His ears picked up the click of expensive heels on a sidewalk. His hopes up, he sought the source of the sound and to his immense relief, saw Cordy walking, looking very tense. He headed towards her and saying, "Cordy," enveloped her in a crushing hug.

For a second, he didn't realize that her back was incredibly stiff and she wasn't hugging him back.

He released her and peered down. She looked different. Her hair was no longer swept up in a casual ponytail; it was now in a bun. Plus, she wasn't wearing casual clothing anymore either. She had on a knee-length skirt and matching jacket. Looking up, he looked into her round hazel eyes.

With a sinking dismay, he saw a mix of confusion, anger and immense fear reflected back.

She glared at him for a long moment, before asking, in her former trademark head cheerleader voice, "What do you think you're doing?"

Angel opened his mouth to say, "Hugging you," when he heard a loud yell from her and felt something soft connect with his jaw. Caught off guard, he felt slim hands push his chest back and suddenly he was sprawled on the ground.

He shook his head, staring after her quickly retreating figure. With a little admiration, he fought down a chuckle. Where had she ever learned to pack such a punch? Without thinking, he called out to her, "Cordy! Wait! I can explain!"

Pausing, she stopped running and turned, 20 metres from where he lay on the ground. Hesitation was apparent as she watched him stagger back up into a standing position. He should have recognized that there was the earlier youthfulness that Cordy had when she was still in high school, before the visions had taken its toll on her. An unmistakeable softness and look of uncertainty crossed her face as she considered his plea. This was the Cordy he knew and understood. He made a mental note to remind her that he appreciated her sticking with him for all these years. That is, when he got the chance.

He didn't have more time to think about this, because suddenly he felt a figure tackle him to the ground again. He looked up and saw a vicious looking Faith above him, straddling his stomach.

"I knew you were trouble!" she hissed at him. Licking her lips maliciously, Angel watched, horrified, as she raised a mighty stake to plunge into his chest.

***

**A park on Baker Street, January 23, 2002**

Wesley made his way back to the park, his head slightly drooping, his weapon trailing behind him. He had lost track of the demon several blocks into his chase, and refusing to give up, he had scoured the neighbourhood. Forty five minutes later, he realized that he had lost it and made his way back to the group.

Mentally, he chastised himself. How was he going to explain this one?

"Story of my life." he huffed under his breath. "Wesley Wyndham-Price, hero-wannabe extraordinaire, the scourge of failed demon hunters." He shook his head blindly. "How did I ever delude myself into thinking I could be anything else?"

He gave himself a bitter chuckle. "But Father always knew what a disappointment I would turn out. Yes, Father always did know best."

He paused by a park bench and slumped down on it. He should accept his failures and own up to the fact that he would never be the great leader he had always wanted to be.

The leader his father had always told him he never would be.

"Yes, well I finally proved him right. That will make him plenty happy when I try calling him next time." he stared at the clean and shiny weapon in his hand.

A distorted, blurry reflection of him stared right back.

A cool breeze floated by him and a putrid smell assaulted his senses. Looking to his far right, he faintly noticed a blonde woman lying motionless on the ground.

Getting closer to her, he saw that it was Kate.

"God, " he said, bringing his hand to his mouth. The monster that had gotten away was lying face forward, Angel's battle-axe jutting out of its back. But where was everyone else?

Assessing the environment, he saw his book lying facing up on the ground. Picking it up, he noticed that it was opened to the spell he had marked, the one that was supposed to have restored Kate's consciousness to the proper time period.

What had happened here?

Frantic, Wesley turned towards the street. Miraculously, a cab was creeping up the street. Hailing it down, he jumped in and told the driver to floor it back to the Hyperion hotel.

***

**The Hyperion hotel, January 23, 2002**

When a very confused Angel entered the hotel with Cordelia, the first thing he noticed was how very large and majestic the lobby was. The ceiling was at least 50 feet high and there was a large, circular red sofa in the center. Floor to ceiling, the walls gleamed, and there were black iron railings running along the wide staircase.

In awe, he asked her in his hushed voice, "I live here?"

She nodded, a note a pride in the smile she shone at him. "And this is the base of our operations." She headed towards the large marble counter.

Right. Angel Investigations. To quote Cordelia, it was 'a private investigative organization that helped the hopeless, specializing in vanquishing nasty demons and strange evil things.' Unable to keep his astonishment hidden, Angel turned around slowly, raising his eyes towards the large chandelier above him. Keeping this place so well lighted, alone, must cost him a fortune.

When Cordelia made it back to him, she was frowning. "Wesley's not in the office yet. Maybe he went upstairs." And with that, she quickly sprinted up the red carpeted staircase. Angel glanced up at the second floor. It didn't seem all that well lighted.

Not wanting to be left alone in the light, he silently followed her up the stairs. As he walked along the dimly lighted hallway, he tried each of the closed doors, quickly. They all seemed to be locked. Hearing Cordelia's voice floating towards him from an open room up ahead, he drifted towards it.

What he saw in front of him made his eyes go wide and jaw drop.

In front of him was a baby crib. Beside it was Cordelia taking a tiny baby out of the hands of a large green demon with red horns and eyes. The demon was wearing a yellow jacket and equally yellow pair of pants. Judging from the way they were interacting with each other, Cordelia wasn't afraid of it.

Or the baby.

"Hey!" a cheerful voice called out. The green demon was talking to him. "Here's the proud papa, back from a grueling night of slaying."

Angel did a double-take and almost looked behind him. Knowing that there was no one behind him, he stood rooted at his spot. There was no way he could be a father, he thought. Watching Cordelia coo and rock the baby in her arms gently, his eyes widened again. What nightmare had he waken up into...?

Finding his motor movements, he tentatively moved towards Cordelia. "Is this really...?"

"Yeah," she answered, without waiting for him to finish. "This is Connor, your son." Swiveling the baby's face towards him, she cooed, impishly. "Looks just like his father, doesn't he?"

Still not touching him, Angel swallowed hard. "And you're... his mother?"

Cordelia turned back at him quickly, obviously fighting the urge to laugh. "Lord, no! His mother is Darla." she exclaimed. Then, much more softly, she nuzzled the baby's forehead and said, "Of course I would never hold that against him." Placing a kiss on the baby's nose, she smiled tenderly, "It doesn't mean I love him any less."

Angel shook his head, blinking several times. Nothing was making sense to him. The male demon broke in again.

"Don't worry, Angel-cakes." he assured him, a look of amusement plastered on his face. "It'll sink in one of these days."

He stepped away from the green demon. "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry, I should have introduced you to him." Cordy said. "This is Lorne. He reads people's auras... he's especially good at reading them when you sing." At the questioning look that Lorne gave her, she said, "I know Angel's acting a little strange now. You remember what he was like before Connor came into his world, don't you? And before we got to be friends, he was pretty lost."

Angel kept backing his way out of the room. A son and he was friends with Cordelia. He thought he had escaped suffering his eternity of torture. The only thing he could think of was to get out of the suffocating madness of this hotel and head back into the sanity of the sewers.

Suddenly, Cordelia headed towards the door too. "Oh my gosh. We can't waste another minute. We need to find Wesley, pronto." Holding the baby on her hips, she reached out to grasp Angel's arm. "Let's go back downstairs. I gotta think of a way to get to Wesley."

For a minute, he felt like twisting himself out of her grasp and running out the door, out of this surreal reality. But he didn't. Other than the fact that he hadn't a clue what was going on, he wasn't in any immediate danger. Reasoning that he didn't want to push her out of his way and take the chance of hurting Cordelia or the baby, he silently complied. That didn't stop the frantic churnings of his head.

As he followed Cordelia down the stairs, he stared at the innocent face blowing bubbles and giggling at him. He wasn't going to run out the door, he decided. At least, not until he got some answers.

Disclaimers: Not mine.   
(c) March 29, 2002   



	6. The Hell That Is Sunnydale

**Waking Up From The Past **  
Chapter 5: The Hell That Is Sunnydale

by Hollywood Phoenix

  


Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.   
Spoilers: 3rd season Angel ep 'Provider' and 3rd season Buffy   
So far: Cordy's visions remind her of 3rd season Buffy years! She was just brushed off by Angel in 2002, while Angel was brushed off by Cordelia in 1998. He's about to be staked by Faith. Wesley continued bashing his self-esteem. Kate's consciousness from 1998 is dead. A/N: Thanks for the support and feedback so far! I'm a feedback junkie so it's definitely appreciated. :) 

~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


**The Hyperion Hotel, January 23, 2002**

Hastily paying the cab fare, as it pulled up to the hotel, Wesley jumped out and sprinted to the front entrance. Spotting Gunn opening the door for Fred, as they were entering, Wesley blurted out, "Thank goodness you two are all right!"

Gunn exchanged a puzzled look with the lithe former Masters student. "Why wouldn't we be? Where ya been, Wes?"

Wesley gave them a confused look. "You mean you didn't kill the second demon? The one that I assume killed Kate?"

Fred exclaimed, "Kate's dead?" as Gunn replied, "I thought you were looking after that one."

Wesley stared at them for a brief moment, a feeling of dread creeping in again, "I lost track of it." He pushed past the other two to enter the hotel. "We have to find Cordelia and Angel."

A slightly peeved voice in front of him piped up. Wesley turned to look in the lobby and saw Cordelia with one hand around Connor, the other on her hip. "Well, it's about time you showed up."

~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ 

**A park on an unknown street, November 18, _1998_**

As Faith was about to stake him, Angel started kicking his legs up to throw her off him. Before he could do so, a slim yet strong arm suddenly flew in and knocked Faith to his side. He looked at his savior and to his astonishment, watched a defensive Buffy tackle Faith on the ground and wrestle for the wooden stake.

Having taken Faith by surprise, Buffy was able to pin the brunette slayer to the ground after a short scuffle. "What are you doing?" the blonde slayer demanded.

Faith smirked at Buffy, "Doing the slayer's job." she spit out. She gestured her head towards Angel, "Like I keep telling you, he's a vampire, I'm the slayer. I'm just doing what I gotta do."

When Faith tried pushing her off, Buffy tightened her grip and slammed her to the ground again. "And I'm telling you that he's good again. He helped us out with the Glove tonight, didn't he? And you were wrong in thinking that he was attacking Gwendolyn Post."

Angel's thoughts flew back to that evening, over three years ago. So, this was right after they had defeated Gwendolyn Post, the ex-watcher who had tried to wield the great power of the Glove of Myhnegon. Looking down at his body, he realized that he was wearing the same clothes that he had worn that night, and chances were, the rest of him looked the same as well. With sinking dread, he realized that he would have to figure out a way to get his consciousness back to his rightful time by himself. But first, he needed to focus on the situation at hand.

Faith snarled at the blonde girl, "You may think you were right to stop me earlier because that Post chick was a psycho, but I just stopped your vampire boy-toy from making mince-meat out of Miss Sunny-frigging-cheerleader over here."

Buffy turned her head towards Cordelia for the first time that evening. A brief moment of uncertainty flickered across her face. "That's not true," she said firmly. "I know Angel wouldn't do that now." She was almost pleading with the brunette who had watched the entire scene in silence. "Tell Faith she's wrong."

Angel saw the mix of emotions tugging across Cordelia's face. Fear, anger, amusement, and lots of confusion.

"When I saw him, he scared me half to death. I thought he might have been attacking me." she started saying slowly. In dismay, Angel saw Faith shooting a triumphant glare at the blonde girl who was still holding her down. "But I don't think he was trying to maul me anymore. I just didn't expect him, I guess." Cordelia concluded, stepping closer to Angel. Both Angel and Buffy stared at her in surprise.

Faith let out a frustrated noise. "Should have known you'd be a cop-out, dating a loser like Xander." Cordelia immediately sent her daggers with her eyes. Faith's body relaxed a bit, losing some of her tight tension. "Fine, I'm not going to stake him. Let me up."

Buffy's eyes wavered as she searched the other slayer's face. "You promise, now?"

Faith pursed her ruby red lips, "Yeah, I promise! Let me up now!" Buffy released her reluctantly, but observed her with a hawk-like stance as Faith got up off the ground and dusted herself off.

Angel turned to Faith, in an attempt to pacify her brewing distrust and anger, "I'm sorry we went through that. You'll find out that I'm really not the bad guy you think I am." he told her softly.

"Yeah, whatever." Faith shrugged back, obviously not convinced. She gave Buffy a disgusted look. "Seeing that we're not going to be vampire slayers tonight, I'm jetting out of here." As she turned to leave, she threw a comment towards Cordelia, "Next time, I'll let him suck you dry first and then stake him. Should have done that in the first place." With that, Faith sprinted out of the park as Cordelia crossed her arms and fumed silently.

After watching Faith run off into the darkness, Buffy went up to Angel, not quite close enough to touch him. "Look, everyone just found out about you being back again. It's going to take some time." she said, her emotionless voice repressing her underlying affection. Angel saw the intense way she was gazing at him and remembered that they were trying not to act on their feelings around each other at this point. He gave an inaudible sigh of relief, realizing that this would make it easier for him to act as if nothing was wrong with him around her.

"I know. I understand that... I can wait." he reassured her. As long as he stuck to the original set of events, and found a way to get himself back to 2002, it would all work out. No one would be the wiser. However, he hadn't counted on Cordelia Chase complicating matters again.

"Well, I don't understand it. Will someone explain to me why you just hugged me?" Cordelia's shrill voice rang out into the night air.

Angel gawked at the impeccably attired brunette as Buffy stared at them both incredulously. His throat closed up, as his mind started panicking. How was he going to get out of this one?

~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ 

**The park on Baker Street, January 23, 2002**

Having assessed that Angel's consciousness had suffered the same fate as Kate's, Wesley told them that Angel would have to try the spell again. When the gang, with the exception of Lorne and Connor, returned to the park, the bodies of the monsters and Kate's were still lying there. Fred paused in front of them in awe, seemingly disregarding the smell given off by the rotting corpses.

"So, how are we going to dispose of them?" she asked, curiously.

Wesley looked at her, startled by the question. "What do you mean?"

"We can't just leave them there." she questioned, persistently. "What if someone finds them?"

Wesley shook his head. "We don't do anything about them. Wolfram and Hart, the Initiate, or some form of animal control will likely take the demons away and the police will handle Kate's death."

"So we just leave them out here until they're found?" Fred queried. "Isn't that... wrong?"

Wesley grimaced, "We don't have the means to dispose of them, unfortunately. With vampires, usually nothing's left of them because they turn to dust. But with these monsters..." Wesley shrugged and gently said to her. "We can't think of that now."

Gunn strode up to Fred, placing reassuring hands on her shoulders, "So let me get this straight," he said, turning to Wesley. "Angel over here," nodding to the dark vampire following swiftly behind them, "is not really the Angel we know. 'Cause this is Angel from 1998 and the Angel we know switched minds with him?" He paused, "Did I get that right?"

"Yes, quite right." Wesley replied, in his crisp English accent.

Fred looked at the way Angel stayed on the fringes of the group and tended to walk in darker lit areas of the park. "This Angel doesn't seem very comfortable with us. Maybe we should call Buffy --"

Looking over her shoulder, Cordy sharply retorted, "No. We're not calling the B-word."

Fred was taken aback, but then she remembered that Cordy was always a little touchy when the blonde vampire slayer Fred had never met was mentioned. She peered at Angel. He may not have been comfortable with the group but when Cordy had snapped at Fred for suggesting to call Buffy, his expression seemed less anxious. Tentatively, she went up to him, "Is that a smile I'm seeing on your face?"

Angel looked at her, surprised. He raised his shoulders slightly, then responded in his soft voice, "This is the Cordelia I remember. She and Buffy never did get along."

Fred hid a quick smile under her ducked head. Leave to Cordy to get a smile out of Angel. Regardless of the means.

Wesley nodded his head, agreeing with Cordy, "We don't know what the impact of this transfer of consciousness on the timeline will be. My recommendation would be to ensure that as few people know about this as possible. And that we resolve this as quickly as possible."

Pinching the bridge of her nose at the smell of the demons, Cordy called to them urgently, "Then hurry up, guys! We have to save Angel from the hell that is Sunnydale right now."

Wesley opened the spell book in his hands and handed it to Angel, who was hidden under a large, shadowy tree. "Kate might have died first, but Angel made the mistake in reading the spell for her. That's why his consciousness was transferred and hers likely remained. Just say this spell once and you should be back in 1998, back in Sunnydale."

Cordy cut in, "Angel was standing where Kate is, I mean was, when that thing killed her, when Angel, I mean our Angel, read the spell the other time." Her brown locks swished around her cheeks as she shook her head in consternation. Pointing towards the bodies, she said to Angel. "Just go over there and read the spell."

Angel floated to the blonde woman's body and started reading the spell in his hushed voice. Fred continued to observe him closely, unused to seeing Angel so quiet and pensive, almost shy. She couldn't understand why everyone else seemed to be accepting it so casually. When Angel had finished reading the spell, he looked up with the same look of expectation that Kate had the first time the spell was read.

Cordy immediately recognized the look, "Oh, great, it didn't work." Slightly panicked, she asked the people milling around Angel, "But everyone knows everyone else and where they are, right?" As the others nodded their heads, she breathed a sigh. Then she blinked angrily at Wesley, "So, what now, oh leader?"

Wesley's mind churned as he stared at the book in Angel's hands dumbfoundedly. "It should have worked." he said, seemingly to himself. Hanging his head slightly, he looked at Cordy, "I honestly don't know."

  


~~X~~X~~ * ~~X~~X~~

  


A/N: I'm slowly bringing each of the more memorable supporting characters in. So, please be patient!   
Disclaimers: I know I don't own the show Angel or its characters. 

  


(c) March 30, 2002   
  
Liked this story? Check out my other fanfics at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=169482   
Thanks for reading! In pursuit of improvement and to keep the 'spirits' up, how about writing some feedback? 


	7. Three's Company, Two's Stranger

**Waking Up From The Past **  
Chapter 6: Three's company, Two's stranger

by Hollywood Phoenix

  


Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.   
Spoilers: 3rd season Angel ep 'Provider' and 3rd season Buffy   
So far: Cordy's visions remind her of 3rd season Buffy years! Present!Angel finds himself in 1998 again, while Past!Angel lives a life worse than hell in 2002. :) Faith nearly staked Present!Angel, but Buffy stopped her in time. However, he might be just as dead if he can't figure out a way to tell Buffy why he tried to hug Cordelia! Wesley finds that he has no answers, for once. 

~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~

  


**A park on an unknown street, November 18, 1998**

The air was cool, but pleasant. The night was calm and clear. Any other situation, and Angel would have been enjoying the evening, only he had inexplicably found himself in a unique position. To his right was Cordelia, with her hands on her hips, her mouth pressed together in a firm line. To his left was Buffy, her arms crossed tightly to her chest, gradually turning an irate shade of red.

He had never before felt such an overwhelming urge to run and hide.

Musing over his past actions, he couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. Immediately, he decided that someone was playing a cruel joke on him. From the time that he had read the spell to return Kate's consciousness to the right body, till this moment, he hadn't been in control of his destiny. Staring at the two grim faces to each side of him, he conceded to himself that he was most definitely going to be the one to pay.

Quickly, he weighed the odds. Buffy was physically stronger, and he didn't want to mess up this timeline entirely. However, Cordelia could really drill down a person and history only knew that she could hold a mean grudge. Besides, he didn't want to lie to this Cordelia, even if he wasn't even friends with her yet. Silently, he hoped that she would one day appreciate this loyalty.

He could always step back and referee a fight between them, but he finally realized a most startling thought. Three years ago, he would have expected Buffy to win a catfight with Cordelia, hands down, due to her strength and hidden intelligence. Hell, he would have rooted for her then as well. Now, however, he knew how perceptive and vicious Cordelia could be if she wanted to be. Plus, when it came right down to it, he wasn't so sure where his loyalties lay anymore. But, he had the uneasy feeling that he was holding the match to a massive explosive.

"What did you just say?" Buffy demanded, glaring at her taller rival.

"He," Cordelia said, pointing at him, "tried to hug me." Angel cringed when Cordelia dramatically pointed at herself. He silently wished that she hadn't heard him. The brunette cheerleader flashed a smug smile. "Was that clear enough for you?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes. "You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" she challenged. "If you think you can hurt me by slandering my boyfriend, you're going to have to do a lot better than that." Angel's eyebrows shot up. Did Buffy just refer to him as her boyfriend? What happened to them trying to be just friends? He held his breath for Cordelia's response.

"So why's your honey trying to mack on me? If he's really your boyfriend, you better put a leash on him." Cordelia snapped back. Angel's jaw dropped a bit in his surprise. Cordelia was actually fighting with Buffy over him, and it wasn't because the last time she had seen him, he would have killed her without a second thought. This was an expected turn of events, but something told him to stay quiet.

"What dream world are you living in? I don't need to chain my boyfriend to me all the time, because I know Angel. And unlike some people, I trust my boyfriend. Speaking of leashes, shouldn't you be calling Xander now?" Buffy shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cordelia demanded angrily.

"Your boyfriend? You know, the one that you think is at your beck and call? Your private kicking bag and picker-upper rolled into something called Xander?" Buffy walked up to Cordelia until she could stick her nose up to her face. "The one who just helped us save the day once again?"

"This has nothing to do with him. Besides, he's not here, is he? He was too busy playing superhero with the rest of you tonight, as usual."

"So you decided to move on, already? Why am I not surprised? Love 'em and leave 'em; I remember that. I used to be part of that life. I was wondering when you'd try to ditch him and who your next victim would be."

"Now who's being delusional?"

"We all know that the only reason you're with Xander is because you want to order him around." Buffy accused. "You think that just because you're popular means that you've got this elevated status. You throw a bone his way every so often to keep him in check, but with girls like you, it's just a game. You play with him until the next puppy comes along." She uncrossed her arms and smirked, "Only, he's not just another adoring fan, is he? He doesn't spend every waking moment with you. He's got friends to care about besides you. He's got a better purpose in his life besides you. That just eats you up, doesn't it?"

Angel's eyes widened at the venom of the slayer's words. Quickly, he glanced at Cordelia's face. When he saw the taller girl's expression, he felt himself move instinctively towards her.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Cordelia replied, her voice strangely quiet. Her face had turned cold suddenly, as if shutting down. She turned away, but not before Angel saw the flicker of pain in her eyes.

Buffy continued, as if she hadn't heard her, "Leave other people's boyfriends alone. Leave my boyfriend alone. You tried to get him once before, remember? Get it through your fluffed-up hair that he's not interested in you. He'll never be interested in you."

Cordelia froze and swiveled back towards the petite blonde. Standing directly in front of her again, she jabbed the air in front of the slayer's nose. "You're forgetting that Angel put his arms around me. Why don't you go ask Faith? She was witness to this whole incredibly wrong scene."

Buffy's face wavered with uncertainty. Seizing the opportunity, Cordelia hammered on.

"If you're saying that Angel wasn't trying to hug me, then what was he doing? Could it be, that your lover is still a vicious killer? Or maybe, he just got tired of you and he was the one who decided to move on." Turning to look at him, Cordelia balefully smiled at him, "Don't you think it's time we asked him?"

To Angel's horror, both the blonde and brunette heads had their eyes focused on him. Tension was overwrought as Cordelia's voice cut through the air again, "So, Angel, why don't you tell Buffy yourself what you were doing to me."

~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ 

**The park on Baker Street, January 23, 2002**

Silence hung in the park as five grim faces stared at the book in Wesley's hands. But Cordy's ears kept ringing with the ex-Watcher's honest admission.

"We have to do something." she broke in, wringing her hands a bit.

Wesley sighed heavily, "I don't know what else to try." He glanced at the moody vampire, partially obscured in shadow. "We need to go back to the Hyperion and start over. We'll need to consult more books."

Cordy stared at the faces of her friends, as they all nodded in somber agreement. "That's it?" she asked, in disbelief. "We're just going to let Angel stay in... in that hell year all by himself? What if he's in trouble? We don't know what he's going through right now. He doesn't even know what's going on, because we have no way to communicate with him."

Gunn stepped forward, "Cordy, we're all upset, but there's nothing else we can do here. The spell didn't work, so let's go back and figure out something else." Fred came up to her and laid a reassuring hand on her arm.

Cordy looked in the direction of the tall stranger with the face of her friend. He was still standing outside the circle of the group, oblivious to their world and fading into darkness. She bit her lip to hide the wave of loneliness that was sweeping over her. Staring at Fred's hand still gripping her arm, she made a decision.

"Fred, please give Connor a kiss from me and take care of him." she softly said to the slim woman beside her. The other brunette looked at her, in a mix of alarm and empathy. "Don't try to change my mind, Wes." Cordelia said more sharply, turning to her oldest friend as he opened his mouth in protest. Then a little more gently, she joked lightly, "This might give you a bit more incentive to find a spell that works."

Wesley went up to the woman he had once thought he was in love with. With genuine concern and a little sorrow, he gave her a tiny smile, "Well, I guess I know better than to talk you out of something when your mind is made up." Flipping open the book, he held the spell out to her. "You know what to do."

As her friends watched in slightly stunned silence, Cordelia laughed a little shakily, "Here goes nothing." With a deep breath she started to recite from the book in her hands.

~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ 

**A parking lot, January 23, 2002**

A lone figure nervously waited, sporadically pacing around the empty parking lot. Occasionally, he looked at his watch and wiped his bald head with a handkerchief. As a set of headlights appeared and blinded his sight, he put his arm up to block the harsh lights.

At the sound of a car door slamming and footsteps, he stared into the headlights. Adjusting his glasses and squinting at a light-haired man's form slowly taking shape in front of him, he asked nervously, "Sir?"

"Why did you call me?" the light-haired man demanded. "I thought I made it clear to everyone that I left for good."

"I know." the nervous man replied. "I - I'm very sorry, but I thought..."

"How did you find me?" the mystery man cut in. "Do they know where I am now?"

"N-n-n-o." the first man stuttered. "They tried to find you before but I was able to prevent them from being successful. Besides, they would never suspect that you would ever consider the type of law you're practicing now. I was very careful not to let anyone know, especially her."

"So, you're working for her now, are you? Is she still the same back-stabbing - "

"Yes, but that's not why I called you." At the blond man's glare, the stuttering started again, "I-I-I heard something."

"What did you hear?" the question was soft but menacing.

"Project T has been re-opened." the agitated man blurted out. "They started the cycles."

"That can't be." the other man said, "They shut it down originally because of the risks."

"Yes, but they don't care now. There's been a lot of shuffling around...new management."

The blond man took a step towards the taller figure anxiously wiping his forehead in front of him. As the taller man flinched, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you took the chance to tell me."

~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ 

**An upscale looking street, November 18, 1998**

Cordelia Chase walked beside a silent figure in black and wondered how she had convinced him to walk her home. Even more strange, she had actually made Buffy look silly in front of Angel. And stranger still, Angel walking with her on the streets of Sunnydale, in the dead of night, felt like the safest and most natural thing in the world.

"So what were doing walking by yourself?" Angel's voice cut in. Cordelia absentmindedly noticed that although his voice was soft, it was also curious and confident.

"Enjoying the fresh air," she answered automatically, a little sarcastically. Her sharp tone usually shut up people. Angel obviously wasn't one of those people.

"In a Chanel outfit and two hundred dollar heels?" he said to her questioningly. She took at quick glance at him, surprised that a man had been so observant, let alone correct in his assessment of her clothing.

"I had a job interview." she replied cautiously. She was surprised again when he nodded and didn't press further. "It was at this really expensive boutique." she blurted out suddenly. "I didn't have a car or a ride home so I had to walk back. And Xander was too busy saving the world to pick me up. I didn't even bother calling him." She shut her mouth to stop herself from continuing. She had said way too much already.

"Why not ask one of your friends?"

"As if I could tell them that I was getting a job!" she retorted in horror. She clamped her hand to her mouth. When did she start being all confessional?

Angel smiled at her gently. "I understand. I won't tell anyone." Cordelia looked at the vampire curiously. What was going on?

"How did you know that my outfit was a Chanel?" she asked him warily.

"I've been in Paris. I've caught a few fashion shows." At her raised brows, he shrugged, "I'm an over two hundred years old vampire with the memory of an elephant. I've seen a similarly cut outfit and guessed."

"Well, wonders... you mean you haven't always been in this pokey old place?" she asked. 

"I thought you knew my history," he said slowly.

"Yeah, Giles dug up all this stuff about you before. You were born and raised in Ireland, but bashed around Europe and Asia before getting your soul and coming to North America. I don't really remember the specifics, like dates or anything. I figured that you've been skulking around here for ages. Anyway, your life wasn't all that exciting."

Angel appeared to be fighting down a spontaneous laugh. He was unsuccessful. "I guess to you, no one else is that exciting."

Cordelia glared at him, "I never made it a secret that it's all about me. At least I don't pretend I'm all altruistic and caring about others, all ready to slay her way to save the world, unlike -"

"Let's not go there," he stopped her, holding up his hands in slight defeat. "I didn't mean to take a jab at you."

Cordelia stared at him a long moment before speaking, "No matter what we find out on paper, we never really know a person, do we? I mean, how much can we ever really know about you? Where you've been and what you've done. Who you've been with. The only way to get to know someone is to spend time with them. Only, you haven't made yourself available to other people, have you?"

Angel seemed to consider her words, "You're right. Not many people can boast that right now."

"Except Buffy Summers. She knows you." Angel fell silent at her words. Uncomfortable suddenly, she changed topic, "So, why are you here in this hell-hole?"

"What, don't you like living close to the hellmouth?" he smirked. Seeing the face she made, he answered her, "I guess you're not one to live dangerously. You always seemed the type to move away from Sunnydale."

"As soon as I graduate, I'm on the next flight out of here." she told him confidently. Seeing the sudden sorrowful look in Angel's eyes, she nervously prattled on, "Europe better watch out, because I'm going to take it by storm."

Angel regarded her for a brief moment, before giving her a sad smile, "I'm sure you'll have a great time."

Cordelia peered at Angel's profile. Was that regret in his voice? Her thoughts flew back to earlier in the evening, when she had challenged Angel to tell Buffy what he had been doing. She had unreasonably blamed Buffy for having to walk home alone, and ticked off with Faith as well. Having the opportunity to take it out on someone, she had said that Angel hugged her. In truth, she had no idea what he had tried to do to her, but she was positive that he wasn't evil anymore. Stunned that she could irk Buffy and that her bluff wasn't called, it hardly registered that Angel had not denied her allegations. As a result of his silence, Buffy had assumed it was correct and run off in anger. Cordelia had felt just a twinge of guilt for having lied to the slayer.

Now, looking at him and recalling his guilty expression as they waited for him to protest that he hadn't been hugging her, she wondered if maybe she hadn't been lying. She felt the need to find out. Mistaking his sadness, and not pausing to think of her daring, she stopped and placed a hand on his chest, "It would be a shame not to enjoy Paris with someone who knows the place."

Angel swiftly took the hand from his chest and dropped it. Cordelia couldn't believe what she had just done. But even though he was brushing her advances, he was being gentle.

"This isn't you." he said simply.

Suddenly, Cordelia Chase was terrified. Who was this vampire to tell her who she was? "And what am I?"

"You're lashing out because Buffy's words hurt you tonight."

Cordelia chortled, belieing her shock and inner turmoil, "If you think that bleached blonde can - " At Angel's serious expression, she paused. What was it about this man tonight that made her want to admit everything?

"She was right. Xander is more apt to run to her side, to Willow's side, before he is to stay at mine." She fluttered her hands in anxiety, "My world is falling apart right now and I can't tell him, because he's too busy to care about my little problems. And my parents, having the real problems, are too busy to think about me. I can't tell my so-called friends because they would just make me the laughingstock of the school." She turned her anguished eyes to him. "You probably have no idea what this feels like."

"Don't be too sure. In my past, I hung around people who were ready to stab me in the back at a drop's notice. Remember Spike?"

"Yes, but that's in the past." Cordelia sniffed. "You're the love of Buffy's life now. I can't believe I'm saying something as sappy as this, but you'll probably be it forever."

"Am I?" When Cordelia stared at him in confusion, he clarified for her, "I made... make her the center of my world. She's the only light in my life but I'm not hers. And likely, never will be. So, I do know what you're going through now. There are nights when I'm left all alone, like you."

"What do you do, then?" Cordelia watched as Angel got a faraway look in his eyes.

"Throw myself into the darkness while I wait for her. Remind myself that being with her, even for one brief second a week, a month, is enough."

"Is it?" she asked softly. He didn't answer her directly.

"It's one of the hazards of falling in love with a super-hero." he replied just as softly. He came up to her suddenly and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. His touch on her cheek was gentle. Sensual.

Cordelia felt the pull between them and looked into Angel's liquid eyes. Slowly, she realized why Buffy found him so incredibly attractive and watching his lips part, she understood why he was so damn irresistible. Pausing, she wondered about her sudden magnetism to him. Was this part of the vampire's powers? In old movies, vampires hypnotized their victims. For a brief moment, Angelus flittered in her mind, but this man couldn't be him. Although she was being lured in, he was being too gentle, too sweet. Unmistakeably, she felt herself trusting him like she had never trusted anyone else before. Cordelia closed her eyes, anticipating a kiss. She was beyond reason.

At that moment, blue waves started to surround her and her eyes flew open in disorientation. When three unfamiliar faces greeted her, she felt her heart thud in terror. She put her hands on her hips and did the first thing she could think of. She opened her mouth. "Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on."

A man with glasses stepped forward and smiled tightly, "Welcome, Cordelia." he said in an English accent. "We've been expecting you." 

  
  


~~X~~X~~ * ~~X~~X~~

  


Special A/N: This is my last chapter for a few weeks, because I'll be away and unable to write, much less be in front of a computer. So, I have a special request. I love the feedback I'm getting so far, and every review has been an incredible boost of spirits! For those of you who don't mind critiquing work, could you please write a more detailed review on the posted chapters? I'm specifically looking to improve my work, so let me know what you liked or didn't like about my writing style, pacing, characterization, plot development, creativity, originality, etc... Spelling and grammar will be cleaned up (in my edit! phase), so you don't have to focus on that. If you don't want to write a long review in my reviews section, please feel free to drop a line at hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com. Regardless, all reviews are much appreciated!   
Disclaimers: Angel and co. aren't mine. 

  


(c) April 8, 2002   
  
Liked this story? Check out my other fanfics at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=169482   
Thanks for reading! In pursuit of improvement and to keep the 'spirits' up, how about writing some feedback? 


	8. Realizations and Misunderstandings

**Waking Up From The Past **  
Chapter 7: Realizations and Misunderstandings  
  
by Hollywood Phoenix  
  
  
Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.  
  
Special request: I'm back! I'm so glad to be returning to the world of fanficdom. I really appreciate the feedback so far, and I'll take any of course. :) But, please please please if you have the extra time to review and let me know what's good/could be better about this story so far, could you? For everyone who has been that so far, thanks! I really am trying to improve my writing, and I'm looking for some constructive feedback.  
  
Spoilers: 3rd season Angel ep 'Provider' and 3rd season Buffy up to 'Lover's Walk'  
  
So far: Present!Cordy switches with her Past!Cordy consciousness. Present!Angel finds himself caught between Past!Buffy and Past!Cordy. Afterwards, he walks Past!Cordy home and for the first time in Buffyverse, bonds with her. Ohmygosh! Can it be that he's talking to someone other than Buffy!?!  
  
~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~  
  
  


**Outside Cordelia Chase's Sunnydale home, November 18, 1998**  
  
Angel had no idea how it all happened.  
  
He had been about to pacify Buffy with a ready lie and risk Cordelia's wrath. He had reasoned that preserving the timeline and the bones of the two glaring girls before him had to be the best option. Recalling the pain of walking away from Buffy, he realized that he couldn't hurt her like that again, in person. In his mind, he had also reminded himself that he would get the opportunity to make up for lying to Cordelia in the next few years, and possibly for eternity. As he had briefly entertained that thought, he fought the amused smile playing on his lips.  
  
At that moment, Buffy had turned and started running out of the park. Before he could understand why Buffy had just left without waiting for his explanation, Cordelia had loudly complained that she now had to walk home alone. Angel had refrained from pointing out that she had been walking by herself earlier, and offered to walk her home. Eagerly, she had accepted. Surprised, he had wondered over why she had trusted him so easily. The brunette Sunnydale High cheerleader that he remembered would have likely run screaming her head off in the opposite direction. Then again, the blonde slayer that he remembered would never have run off without waiting for him to explain his actions. He had thought she would stick with him to her dying breath.  
  
Maybe he was losing his touch. Maybe he never knew either of them that well.  
  
Musing over why she had been walking without Xander or her entourage, and hadn't been picked up by her family car, he casually started conversing with her. He was curious to comprehend what was going on inside that head of the brunette beauty haughtily walking alongside him.  
  
He had been pleasantly astonished with how foreign, yet familiar this woman was to him. She was young, being still an idealistic teenager, but there was a hidden and unmistakeable confidence, poise, and maturity that made her appear well beyond her teenage years. He remembered the Cordelia Chase he ran into in L.A. and when she had pointed out that he never talked to her before, wondered why he had never bothered to get to know her when they were in Sunnydale. He conceded to her explanation of how he had only been obsessed with Buffy.  
  
Talking with her, she had demonstrated her trademark quick wit and sharp tongue. However, traces of real feeling and self-conscious perceptiveness cropped up, first when she had alleged him of hugging her and argued with Buffy, and later, when she had admitted that she couldn't count on her friends, while Xander always put her second to Buffy and Willow. Stunned, yet marveling at her daring and unsuccessful attempt to seduce him in order to numb the hurt she was feeling, he had immediately called her on it. After all, she had always been straight-forward, if brutally honest, with him, and she deserved the same from him.  
  
It was at this moment that it hit him how much he knew and understood the woman who would become his closest and perhaps, most important, friend. He sadly indulged her naive fantasy of attending her choice school in Paris and living the glamorous life she dreamed of.  
  
One moment, he was reaching out to her and letting her believe in what would be an unrealized future. The next, he found himself brushing her hair out of her face and mesmerized by the new perspective he had gained about his best friend.  
  
In shocking realization, he saw that she was responding to him in an unexpected way. He watched as she froze at the brief contact his fingers made with her face. Her breathing became more ragged as she opened her lips slightly.  
  
'She's my friend,' he thought, 'Or at least she will be. Now, she's young and hurting. I can't take advantage of her like this. I can't ruin my chances with her, our friendship.' The moment slowed to a cruel crawl as he watched her close her eyes and lean towards him. Panicking, he tried to control his breathing. 'I'm not having these thoughts. If I let this happen, I'll be ruining our future together. I won't do that.'  
  
Suddenly, Cordelia stopped in midair and opened her eyes, as if waken from a trance. Noticing the hand glued to her cheek, she peered up at him in slight confusion and asked the dreaded question he had been asking himself, "Angel, what are you doing?"  
  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~   
  
**The park on Baker Street, January 23, 2002**  
  
Cordelia Chase stared at the English man in disdain, desperately trying to hide her immense confusion over her new predicament. Looking around, she found herself in a park, surrounded by three very unfamiliar people who seemed to know her. She drew herself to full height, but stumbled onto the ground, as a wave of nausea hit her. Instinctively, the three people in front of her moved forward to steady her.  
  
"I'm fine." she protested, swatting a dark hand on her elbow. Looking up at the person that the hand belonged to, she saw a knowing smirk spread on a good-looking face.  
  
"Good to know that some things never change." the tall dark man quipped. "Or maybe I should say, she's the Cordy we know and love?"  
  
Cordelia let the wave of fear at the man's familiar referral to her turn into anger, "Don't think you can pass yourself off as a friend of mine by calling me by that horrible name. I do not have a nickname. Even if I did, I'd never pick anything sounding like a passe fabric. My name is Cordelia." she said bitingly. She glared at the long-haired slender brunette hovering over her, "Got it?"  
  
Suddenly, she felt herself hauled onto her feet. "Quit complaining and get over yourself." The brusque voice seemed to come out of the shadows, and the figure that it belonged to quickly shuffled back into the darkness. She saw the looks of surprise the dark man and the other brunette woman exchanged with each other. Only the English man remained passive in calm acceptance.  
  
Cordelia squinted into the shadows at the person who had so rudely interrupted her tirade. His ease with fading into the darkness of the night, and his low brusque manner seemed so familiar to her. Who was he? How dare he sound annoyed with her? Didn't he realize that she was the most popular girl in Sunnydale High? True, she hadn't won her bid for Homecoming Queen, but that was all Buffy's fault. Thoughts flying about in her mind, she decided that this had to be some weirdness to do with the Hellmouth. And since everyone connected to the Hellmouth was Buffy's responsibility, she attributed that her current situation must be Buffy's fault too.  
  
Pouting slightly, she crossed her arms. She kept silent, but knew who was to blame for everything wrong in her life.  
  
Sighing audibly, the English man pushed up his glasses and gently massaged his temples. "I know you're ... getting adjusted to all this. Why don't we just sit down calmly to explain everything." As Cordelia looked prepared to start another tirade, he quickly interjected, "I promise we won't hurt you. We just want to talk. If you don't like what we say, well, you're free to go. Besides, Angel is in the same situation as you are."  
  
Cordelia looked at the figure shrouded in darkness in astonishment. It seemed strange how a few hours of what, she had to admit to herself, could only be called easy bonding with the cursed vampire could make her reevaluate his character. Attempting to cool her rapidly reddening face, she angrily told herself that he was the same jerk obsessed with the fashion faux pas slayer that he always was. How could she have thought for a moment that she could confide in him? That he understood her? How could she have let her guard down for a moment?  
  
She had forgotten that she couldn't truly rely on anyone but herself.  
  
Focusing sharply on the man in front of her, she noticed his stunning likeness to Giles. She knew that she assessed people's characters well, especially shady ones. Looking at this slightly bookish man, and the innocent faces of the black man and brown-haired girl, she decided to trust them, at least for the moment.  
  
But she wouldn't make it easy for them. "I'm your prisoner?"  
  
She thought she saw a smile tug at the corners of the English man's mouth. "I'd rather you consider yourself our guest."  
  
Immediately, her mind conjured up movies that forebode trouble after bad guys uttered those infamous words. Pushing those frightening thoughts away, she cautiously followed the trio out of the park, as the broody vampire tailed them, remaining in the shadows.  
  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~   
  
**Summers' residence, November 18, 1998**  
  
Buffy opened the door to the house she had called home the past two and a half years, and forlornly entered the dimly lit foyer. As she quickly headed for the stairs and dark comfort of her bedroom, a voice stopped her.  
  
"Oh, hi Buffy! Willow just called to see how you were doing." Sensing her daughter's dejected mood, Joyce Summers got up from the living room couch and made her way towards her. "How was your day?" she asked, trying to keep the anxiousness out of her voice.  
  
Buffy fought the urge to brush her mother aside. "A little tiring. Not really in the best of moods right now."  
  
The blonde wavy-haired woman gave her daughter a comforting smile. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Want to talk about it? I'm about to get a mug of cocoa."  
  
Buffy stared up into her mother's face, the care written plainly on it. Part of her wanted to tell her everything, but she knew that her mother would never understand, much less accept her daughter's life. "Not really." Seeing the slight hurt on her mother's that was quickly replaced by a patient but tight smile, she blurted out, "It's just guy problems, that's all."  
  
Joyce assessed her daughter's large eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Sitting back down on the couch, she gently prodded her, "I know you think I don't remember what it's like to be in high school and in love, but I do recall falling in love with your father. Not to mention, being so infatuated with him and I couldn't stop seeing him through rose-coloured glasses until I found out that he had betrayed me. I might be able to help you." Seeing the torn look on Buffy's face, she said softly, "I promise, I'm here to listen."  
  
In part a tad guilty, and largely because she needed to talk to someone, Buffy opened up to her mother, "Remember that guy, Angel?"  
  
Joyce knotted her brows together, "You mean the guy who was stalking you?"  
  
"No! I mean, I said he sort of was. But he's okay again." Buffy automatically defended him. Seeing the confused look on her mother's face, she tried to explain, "It was all a big... misunderstanding. We sorted it out." At the concern evident on the elder woman's face, she continued nervously, "We didn't get back together or anything. It's just that he had a really rough time and needed my help with getting back on his feet. I never realized before how much he depended on me, on our ... relationship." She was stumbling over her words now. "I started learning more about him, as sort of a ... friend, and got close to him again."  
  
"Obviously, he means a lot to you." Joyce responded slowly, uncertain how to handle this. She delicately patted the seat next to her on the sofa.  
  
The blonde slayer's shoulders slumped as she flopped onto the couch. "I wish he didn't." A pained look crossed the teenager's face. Her mother's eyes lit up with understanding.  
  
"He hurt you tonight." Joyce stated calmly. Inside, her mind was whirling with thoughts of how to hunt down the boy who had caused her only daughter pain and give him a good tongue lashing. Joyce peered into Buffy's face as she carefully said, "You were secretly hoping to reconcile with him."  
  
Stricken, Buffy hung her head. "He doesn't want me anymore."  
  
With the acquired patience and knowledge of her years, Joyce held her tongue and refrained from telling her daughter that this man who continually hurt her couldn't be right for her.  
  
"I've been fighting this so much!" the young slayer exclaimed. She jumped up and started pacing the room in frustration, "I keep telling myself that he's wrong for me. It's just that when I'm with him, the world around us disappears. When I kiss him, I feel all tingly inside and when he holds me in his arms, I -". Suddenly remembering who she was confessing to, she stopped and her voice broke as she finished softly, "When I'm apart from him, the world is so bleak and empty. When I can't be with him, I feel so alone. I've never felt this way about anyone else before. I don't think I'll ever feel this way about anyone else again."  
  
Joyce Summers gathered her daughter in her arms and whispered to her tenderly, "I understand, Buffy." As tears streamed down the blonde girl's face, the mother hugged her tighter, "You might think that this is the worse thing that could ever happen, but you're strong. You'll get past this. Don't ever think that you're alone." As a sob racked through her daughter's body, she fiercely looked into her daughter's eyes. "Love is never a sure thing, with anyone. Except when it comes to mothers and daughters, especially you and I. Believe me when I say that I'll always love you." As she embraced her daughter again, she started to cry with her, "I promise that I'll always be here for you."  
  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~   
  
**Wolfram & Hart, January 23, 2002**   
Lilah Morgan sat at her desk, pensively going over the contract in front of her. It was well into the early morning hours, but she wasn't adverse to working all-nighters a few times a week. After a few minutes, she looked up into the cold emptiness of her large office. She knew that in everyone's eyes, she was a no-nonsense, take-charge woman. Whispers along the Wolfram and Hart grapevine travelled quickly, and being the queen of ferreting out gossip, especially when it concerned her, she heard all that was said about her. Beautiful, intelligent, sharp, and extremely ruthless. She didn't mind being stereotyped like that. After all, she had always been a competitive sort of woman.  
  
Her attention returned to the new unsigned contract she had been reading. The cold black ink stared back at her, as her mind registered the words "mother", "home", and "liability". A sigh started to escape from her. Not wanting to dwell on the matter any more, she hastily scrawled her signature on the last line. At that moment, a loud knock on her closed door sounded.  
  
"Come." she commanded, in her dispassionate voice. The door opened to reveal a large man wearing large sunglasses in an impeccably uncreased black suit.  
  
"What?" she demanded. She hated not having the upper hand, and not being able to see a man's eyes, or gauge his emotions from his eyes unnerved her a bit. She glared at him to assert her power, something she had learned to do very well in Wolfram and Hart world. The man paused for a moment, as if to collect his thoughts.  
  
"Someone has been snooping into the Project T files." the man reported to her.  
  
"Find the perpetrator. Flush him out." she replied, with a note of hostility.  
  
"We have found and detained him already. He's one of our own." A folder slid under her nose and fell onto her desk.  
  
The brunette attorney glanced down at the file that now covered her hastily signed contract. Fighting to suppress her surprise at the quick response and her annoyance at the man's unwavering wooden expression, she pursed her lips slightly. Opening the folder and focusing on the name in the file, she felt her stomach churn in growing dismay. Getting up quickly, she strode over to the man.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" she questioned him fiercely. Her heart was pounding too quickly to control the emotion in her voice. She imagined a smirk sliding onto the large man's face.  
  
"Without a doubt. We caught him in the act."  
  
"Question him - see if he has leaked out anything to that traitor yet. Extract everything he knows from him tonight." Lilah composed herself again and continued her orders calmly, "You have my permission to use any means necessary."  
  
"Done." the man swiftly left her office.  
  
As the door closed, Lilah turned towards her window. Below her, lights along the street twinkled as cars whizzed by.  
  
"I'm the one who'll win, you son of a bitch." she vowed to the world. "This time around, Lindsey McDonald, I'll be the only one on top."  
  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~   
  
Disclaimers: I'm only writing for amusement and because I'm such a fan! Angel and co. aren't mine.  


(c) April 29, 2002 


	9. Haunted by the Past and Present

**Waking Up From The Past **  
Chapter 9: Haunted by the Past and Present  
  
by Hollywood Phoenix  
  
  
Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.  
  
A/N: Thanks for the feedback! I'm really enjoying writing this story.  
  
Spoilers: 3rd season Angel ep 'Provider' and 3rd season Buffy up to 'Lover's Walk'  
  
So far: Present!Cordy switches with her Past!Cordy consciousness. Past!Buffy has a heart-to-heart with her mom. Lilah figures out that Lindsey's back in town.  
  
~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~  
  
  


**Outside the Chase Sunnydale home, November 19, 1998**  
  
Angel stared at the confused brunette girl in front of him. Slightly ashamed, he dropped his hand quickly. Cordelia placed a hand on her cheek, as if missing his hand there.  
  
"Angel, is that really you?" the confusion was replaced with unrestrained hope.  
  
"Cordy?" he responded hesitantly.  
  
There was a squeal, "Oh, it's really you!" and suddenly she was wrapping him in a very big, very enthusiastic hug.  
  
Feeling how comfortable she was in his arms, Angel was struck by how much he missed this simple pleasure. He sighed quietly and breathed in. It was almost as if her scent had become more familiar to him again. Suddenly, he pulled back. "Wait, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Aren't you glad to see me?" she asked, whacking him gently on the arm. "What, you have some pancake-faced demoness without an ounce of fashion sense stashed around here?"  
  
"Is that a reference to how pale I look?" Angel joked. He shook his head, the smile spread wide on his face. "You're the only demoness that counts." Cordy whacked him again, this time a little harder, but she was grinning her mega-watt smile. Angel's face turned more serious, "You don't know how glad I am to see you."  
  
"Well, you should be. Because I'm here to save your sorry behind."  
  
Angel's eyes went round. "Oh, you didn't."  
  
Cordy narrowed her eyes, "I didn't what? Come after you? Save you from the misery of Sunnydale?"  
  
Angel groaned. "You did switch on purpose."  
  
"Well, yeah! I jumped into the action, like the way you guys did when I was sucked into Pylea. I'm just returning the favour." Cordy explained proudly.  
  
Angel shook his head again, the smile wiped from his face. "But now you're stuck with me."  
  
"Come on, Wesley's going to work out a spell, Gunn'll take care of the big baddies, and Fred and Lorne will look after Connor while we're away. So, really, it'll be like a vacation." Cordy paused to think, "Only I didn't get a choice on the destination."  
  
"What if it's not that simple? We don't know how long we'll be here. We also have no way of contacting them." Angel persisted.  
  
"So then our selves from this time period will get a little bonus living from their dreary lives." Cordy countered. "Don't be such a downer."  
  
Angel paled, "I forgot that it's not just us displaced, but also the consciousness we replaced."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I forgot we switched with ourselves from this time period." he said. "Great. The Queen of Sunnydale High in L.A. with the gang... and me."  
  
Cordy glared at him, "Big deal. She's practically the me when I went to L.A. three years ago. You weren't exactly Mr. Congeniality yourself." She crossed her arms, stone-faced, "I can't believe I actually said that spell for you. It's nothing to you because you just like jumping into the action. What's a little inter-time switching as long as there's a little excitement and you can make like the main action-man? But I don't see anything in it for me. Hello, gratitude?"  
  
Angel stared at her a moment, realizing that she had taken a huge leap of faith to come after him. He silently thanked the Powers that Be for making sure that they were with each other. "Thank you," he said somberly as he took one of her hands and raised it to kiss the back of it. "No one's ever done that for me before."  
  
Cordy blinked at the romantic gesture. Angel was holding her hand in his now, but she could still feel the pressure of his cool lips on her hand. Not trusting her voice since she suddenly felt something in her chest rise up and lodge itself in her throat, she simply replied, "You're welcome."  
  
Almost reluctantly, Angel gently let her hand go. "So," he said, clearing his own throat, "we need a game plan."  
  
Cordy felt vaguely disappointed. 'What's going on with me?' she thought as she nodded her head in agreement.  
  
"We have to find that book we used to get here and see if there's something we missed in it." he continued.  
  
"Giles probably has it in his library." Cordy piped in.  
  
"I'll look for it tonight." he told her.  
  
"You mean, we'll look for it tonight." she corrected him.  
  
"No, you're staying here." he said, looking at the door behind her.  
  
"What?" her voice was getting louder and more shrill, but she didn't seem to care. Angel glanced at the door anxiously.  
  
"Cordy, we have to act normally and follow everything we did in this timeline." Angel explained softly. "Your parents would have a fit if you don't sleep in your bed tonight."  
  
"As if they would notice," she scoffed. "They're probably out. Let me guess - Dad's with his investors and Mom's out with the ladies, trying to pretend that we're not having money problems."  
  
"We can't take that chance." Angel took an unconscious deep breath before stumbling forward with, "That's why I have to see Buffy tonight."  
  
"What?" she repeated again, this time practically a shout. "Why? Buff--? But you aren't --? No!" She squinted at him, "What?"  
  
Angel suppressed a groan, "I need to fix something that I did tonight."  
  
"What did you do?" Cordy demanded, crossing her arms again.  
  
"I screwed up the timeline a bit," he said guiltily before proceeding to tell her what had transpired earlier that night. "I have to smooth things over with Buffy tomorrow morning or she'll think there's something going on between us. That will just mess up everything." he concluded.  
  
Cordy glared at him, "Leave you alone for a few hours and this is what happens." She fought to urge to make a really snitty comment. "Fine, fine. For the sake of the timeline, go find Buffy." she said sullenly.  
  
"So, we're okay with what we have to do, right?" he said cautiously. Cordy didn't reply immediately as she looked onto the street.  
  
"Yeah, sure." she said, trying to fake indifference. It wasn't fooling Angel, but he forced himself not to brood over it.  
  
"Good, then I'll see you tomorrow." he paused, waiting for her response.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." she waved her hand dismissively. Abruptly, she opened her front door, went in and closed it without saying another word.  
  
Angel looked back at her closed door before disappearing into the darkness. "Good night," he said softly before swiftly making his way to the house Buffy shared with her mother.  
  
  
**Inside the Chase Sunnydale home, November 19, 1998**  
  
Cordy entered her front foyer, fuming over Angel's hypocrisy. One minute, he was saying that they shouldn't do anything to derail the past timeline and the next, he was ready to hop over the fence and run right back to his darling slayer, be damned the consequences.  
  
'Smoothing it over with Buffy.' she thought. 'Like I can't see through his reasons!'  
  
'But Buffy thinks that he's into you now.' a little voice reminded her. 'If he doesn't convince her otherwise tonight, everything will change.'  
  
'Right, as if she could ever believe that he would be interested in me,' she thought angrily. 'Oh, what's the point in getting all upset? He's seeing her. So what? He knows he can't do anything without risking becoming Angelus again. He won't do that, not even for one night with his true love.'  
  
'Why are you upset then?' the little voice asked her.  
  
'I'm not!' she replied to herself. She laughed humourlessly and said out loud, "How lame is this? I'm having conversations with myself." With horror, she realized something else, "I'm brooding!!"  
  
"Cordelia?" a high female voice stopped her in her tracks. She turned and noticed the only dimly lit room in the house.  
  
"Mom?" she asked, with dread. Peering into her room, her heart sank. Two grim looking people sat in the decidedly male study with wooden panel walls and mahogany furniture. "Dad."  
  
"Come in, dear." her mom cooed in her false 'I'm the cream of upper society' voice. Her father observed her in grumpy silence.  
  
"What's up?" Cordy automatically smiled happily, feeling like her face would crack from the pressure. "You're home early."  
  
"You're home late." her father replied gruffily. "Who was that boy you were with out front? We haven't seen him around here before." Cordy was at a loss for words as her father said, "I don't like the way he looks."  
  
"It's just that he looks so much older than you." her mother jumped in. "Although, I remember quite fondly how I used to like older boys when I was your age. I only dated college boys, never boys in high school."  
  
Cordy gulped, "He's a friend, a friend of a friend, actually. He's kind of seeing some other girl."  
  
"So he's cheating around with you?" her father asked her directly. Cordy squirmed under the microscope.  
  
"No! I- uh- we're really just friends, Daddy." she stuttered. 'Why do they always make me feel like a silly third-grader?' To her surprise, her mother came to her rescue.  
  
"Don't mind Daddy tonight. We had a meeting with the accountants and investors, dear. I missed my weekly bingo night to go with him." her mother explained in her sugar-coated voice.  
  
"Oh." Cordy suddenly remembered this night. Her legs felt like they would give way as she also remembered the long conversation she had to have. "Oh."  
  
"Come sit and chat." her mom chirped brightly. She patted the chair beside her. "You can sit next to me."  
  
Cordy complied, sinking into profferred chair. Her already foul mood sank with her. "What should we chat about?"  
  
Her mother opened her mouth again as her father interrupted, "Your expenses this month. And last month" He glared at her as she suppressed a pained whimper, "We're going through them line-by-line."  
  
  
**The Hyperion, January 23, 2002**  
  
Fred put down the heavy book she was reading, and rubbed her eyes. She'd forgotten to put on her reading glasses and now she was getting really tired reading the fine print. Looking over at the slightly grizzled ex-Watcher, she said, "I'm going for a break." Wesley looked up and smiled in understanding before returning to his own reading.  
  
Making her way to the lobby, she peeked in at Angel, still hiding in the shadows. There was no other word to describe what he was doing, except loitering, and seeing his unsmiling expression, wondered how miserable his life used to be. As she stepped towards him, she noticed him retreating into a dark corner. Changing her mind, she headed up the stairs.  
  
Passing by Connor's room, she peered in to see Lorne holding the baby and crooning a gentle lullaby. She smiled at the funny sight and proceeded towards the next room with the open door.  
  
Cordelia was in the next one. She was positioned in front of her mirror, furiously brushing her hair. Fred paused in the doorway and wondered at how easily Cordelia had accepted their explanations of everything that had happened and of the consciousness switching. Then again, Cordelia was never one to dwell on the impossibility of these types of things. She was always more of a 'let's accept this and make the best of it' person.  
  
Sensing Fred's presence behind her, Cordelia turned. "I look so tired and I've got wrinkles! And have you seen my hair?" she demanded. "I've never had a bad hair day before!"  
  
"It doesn't look that bad," Fred offered, trying to console her.  
  
"Well, it's not like you would know any different." Cordelia sniffed at her, as she stared at the simple way Fred wore her hair. "A good hair dryer and hair spray obviously doesn't rank high on your list."  
  
"It's pretty close to how it always looks." Fred said desperately to make the other brunette feel better, despite her own feelings being hurt. That, apparently, was the last thing Cordelia wanted to hear.  
  
"This is how I always look?" Cordelia shrieked, horrified. Turning back to the mirror again, she brushed her hair frantically. "What has the future done to me?"  
  
Fred backed away from the room, not knowing how to answer, much less communicate with this Cordelia. Quickly, she went to her room and retrieved her glasses. Coming down the stairs again, she noticed Lorne trying to give Connor to Angel.  
  
"Come on, angelcakes. He's only a little tike. He won't bite." Lorne pleaded. Angel darted away to another corner.  
  
"I'll take him," Fred said, slipping on her glasses. Lorne handed the baby to her.  
  
Cordelia came down the stairs at that moment. She had changed into a red, sparkly top and black pants, an outfit she had found hanging in her closet with a dry-cleaning bill attached to it. Her hair was pulled back by tiny barrettes that sparkled under the chandelier lights.  
  
Lorne whistled, "Looking good hon." Cordelia ignored him. He went to Angel and nudged his elbow, "Doesn't she?" Angel took another step back in annoyance. Shrugging, Lorne made his way to Fred and Connor. "Not too talkative, are they?"   
  
"They look so lost. It seems so hard for them to adjust to all this." Fred looked at Angel, "I don't understand why he so different."  
  
"Apparently someone's still hung up on a blonde ex-cheerleader," Lorne grinned. "Guess we shouldn't be talking about kyerumption or moira around him anytime soon, huh?"  
  
"He doesn't seem to care that she's around." Fred focused her sights on Cordelia. Since she had come down the stairs, Cordelia had been glancing at the hidden vampire with both relief and annoyance, as if she was happy to not be alone and frustrated that she felt that way. "They don't seem very close yet. I guess going to another place, living there for a few years, really changes people." Fred looked down, a little sadly, "Pylea changed me."  
  
Lorne looked at the lithe girl beside her. "Living in Pylea would change anyone," he said gently. "You survived in a demon dimension that doesn't regard human peasants very highly. That's bound to leave a few scars."  
  
"Yeah," she said, unwilling to dwell on her past. "At least Angel and Cordelia have each other. They're just so uncomfortable around each other. It's like they hardly know each other, almost like strangers," she finished, puzzled. Uncharacteristically, Lorne only responded with a shrug.  
  
Jostling Connor in her arms a bit, she headed back to Wesley's dimly lit office. Pausing in the doorway, she asked Wesley, "Did you find a spell yet?"  
  
Wesley caught his breath as he regarded the Fred holding Connor. Framed in the entrance, the light from the lobby filtered in around her, making her and the baby glow before him. Forcing his chest to steady from the breathtaking sight, he softly replied, "Not yet. They are so many spells out there concerning body switches and time travel, but it's hard to narrow it down to the right one. I'm not sure we'll find the answer tonight."  
  
Fred made her way closer to the desk. "Maybe we should get reinforcements," she suggested. "Angel seems so displaced here and Cordy looks like she needs some cheering up. Should we call Buffy?"  
  
Wesley smiled at Fred's concern. "It's very sweet that you're trying to consider their feelings. It's just that I don't want to involve Buffy and all her friends. Especially, with Angel and Cordy being from the past. It could get very complicated." He leaned back thoughtfully, "Although, your first suggestion is quite valid. Maybe we do need another opinion." He reached for the phone. "Giles, Buffy's watcher, would be an excellent reference. He might have some insight into this."  
  
Fred smiled broadly, delighted that she had contributed. Wesley looked into his phone book and dialed up the number to The Magic Box shop.  
  
"Giles?" he asked, when someone picked up on the other end.  
  
"Uh, no, it's Willow." the witch answered. "Giles isn't here."  
  
"Where is he?" Wesley asked curiously, "I need his help. It's a bit of an emergency."  
  
"Giles went back to England a few days ago," Willow said sadly. "He hasn't told us yet how to reach him. I think he might be touring around a bit."  
  
"Oh," Wesley said, disappointed. Suddenly, Willow jumped in.  
  
"Maybe I can help?" she asked hopefully. "I could come to L.A." she offered hesitantly.  
  
Wesley paused, "It can't hurt." He mustered a little more enthusiasm, "We'd be happy for the help."  
  
"Great." Willow replied, a little excitedly. "I'll be there first thing in the morning."  
  
  
**Outside the Summers home, November 19, 1998**  
  
Meanwhile, Angel had made his way to Buffy's window. Through the partially open window, he could see her lying on her bed. Her light was off, but the moon shone in to brighten her room with a bluish glow. Shadows danced on her marble skin as her chest rose and fell with an easy rhythm. Her lashes were long and feathery, her lips moist and supple. A breath caught in his throat.  
  
Deja vu was the only feeling he had at that moment as he recalled the countless times he had climbed up to her window to sneak into her room and steal fervent kisses. For a moment, he remembered the feelings he would have on those nights; the blood boiling through his cold veins, the all-consuming passion for Buffy. She used to be his one true love, his first love. He used to think that he would never love another person that way. Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts behind him as he surveyed the situation. He knew that he was no longer invited into her house, so he stayed outside, rapping on the window frame.  
  
Buffy sprang up immediately, but upon seeing him, frowned and crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here to explain about earlier."  
  
"So explain." Buffy pouted.  
  
Grateful, Angel said, "It's not what you think about Cordelia."  
  
"And what exactly am I supposed to be thinking?" she asked, somewhat angrily. It was then that he noticed her tear-stained face. His heart uncontrollably went out to her.  
  
"Nothing." As she opened her mouth, he added quickly. "It was nothing. Just Faith trying to stir up trouble and Cordelia picking it up to egg you on." He patiently waited as Buffy closed her mouth and mulled his explanation. 'That's kind of how it went,' he thought to himself.  
  
I'm glad." Buffy finally said, sounding like she believed him. Angel sighed inwardly with relief. She laughed, shakily. "I should have known that I was being silly. I can't believe I ran away now." She looked embarrassed. "I was just so shocked and sad... I mean, we're not together anymore but I didn't know what to think."  
  
Feeling the sudden, instinctive urge to comfort her, Angel made a move closer to her window, and was startled when he couldn't get through.  
  
'Oh, yeah, the uninvitation spell,' he remembered. Mentally kicking himself for losing focus and forgetting who he was, he looked back at Buffy's face.  
  
"The spell," she said, realizing herself why he had stopped suddenly. "Do you want to come in?"  
  
Angel felt temptation pull at him. Then, he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be invited in yet. "I better not," he told her, after a brief pause. Unable to stop himself, he looked longingly at the beautiful slayer just inches and an invitation away from his grasp.  
  
"Yeah. You better not," she echoed quietly.  
  
"I should go." With great effort, Angel pushed himself off the window sill and onto the ground. He didn't glance back as he ran across her lawn back into the enveloping night.  
  
He didn't stop running until he got to Sunnydale High. Pausing before heading into his last stop that night, he looked up at the moon shining down on him. Buffy looked so young and vulnerable tonight. 'I've forgotten how much I miss her.' As he entered the school, still soaking in the moon's beams, he continued to muse over the blonde slayer that he used to be in love with.  
  
Unbeknownst to him, Faith spied him across the street. As she watched him break into the high school, she thought to herself, 'I'm going to find out what you're really up to.'  
  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~   
  
Disclaimers: I'm only writing for amusement and because I'm such a fan! Angel and co. aren't mine.  


(c) May 5, 2002 


	10. Morning Doesn't Always Shed Light

**Waking Up From The Past **  
Chapter 10: Morning Doesn't Always Shed Light  
  
by Hollywood Phoenix  
  
  
Want to post this story? Please email me at: hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission. Thanks.  
  
A/N: Thank you for the feedback everyone! I really appreciate it!  
  
Spoilers: 3rd season Angel ep 'Provider' and 3rd season Buffy up to 'Lover's Walk'  
  
(c) May 8, 2002  
  
~~*~~*~~ @ ~~*~~*~~  
  
  


**Sunnydale High, November 19, 1998**  
  
Super-speed and extra agility are gifts to a vampire. So are heightened extra-sensory perception and speed-reading.  
  
'All very good things,' Angel mused as he finished scanning another bookshelf.  
  
For the last ten minutes, he had been perusing the titles of books on Giles' 'secret' bookshelves. His keen eyesight and sharp mind was able to skim over each without needing too much attention. Which was a good thing, because he wasn't really paying attention.  
  
No, oh, no. He was paying attention to Buffy.  
  
He had forgotten what she had been like three years ago. After moving to L.A., he had become so distant from her, so much out of her life, that every time they met seemed so precious and everything she told him seemed so new and foreign. Each time they parted, he couldn't say goodbye to her. Instead, he would just turn and walk away, leaving her to her tears and numbing away his feelings so that they could live their separate lives. When she had died, he had immediately felt guilty for not having been there to save her and for never really saying goodbye to her. When she was brought back to life again, he was so happy not to have to worry about that and immediately fell back into his old habits.  
  
What was it about the slayer that caught his thoughts, twisted them until he couldn't see, much less think straight, and then wouldn't let go? Why was it that both being with her and apart from her made him want to live and die, and breathe and suffocate all at the same time? She was probably the strongest woman alive on the planet, yet each time her doe eyes turned downwards, he wanted to gather her up in his arms and kiss her problems away. Experience showed that this seemed to work most of the time.  
  
If only that could make his problems disappear too. Only, experience also showed that even if they could forget who they were, someone, the Powers That Be, fate, some divine god up above, something wouldn't. Never let it be said that he'd ever had a dull moment with the slayer. It was always about the patrolling, the demons they fought or the problems caused by all that melodrama concerning the impossible relationship of a vampire or vampire slayer.  
  
Angel leaned against the last bookshelf, suddenly drained from all his sorrows. Seeing Buffy reminded him of how much he'd loved her, for reasons unknown to him and everyone else, but it also brought back the overwhelming array of emotions, guilt and memories from his entire past. This included all he'd done to get to Sunnydale, the destruction he'd caused when he had become Angelus again, and furthermore, the incredible burden he'd been to her friends and each other.  
  
'I should never have come back from the hell dimension,' he thought, scanning the last row of that last bookshelf. 'I should be living a life of hell.'  
  
Swiftly moving to Giles' office, he suddenly stopped, shaking his head. 'Snap out of this brooding.'  
  
'Don't think you'll get away with that thought.'  
  
Angel froze, startled when he heard Cordy's voice in her head. 'Do you really think you should be in hell right now?' she asked.  
  
Oh, it sounded so much like her.  
  
Looking around the darkened library furtively, he couldn't see anyone. Opening the door to Giles' office, he peered in. No, still no one. He almost chuckled in amusement, 'Now I'm hearing voices. Of all the ones to hear, it had to be hers.'  
  
'Well, who else would keep you from your own depressing thoughts?' she challenged him in his mind. 'Who else wouldn't just wig out and let you brood yourself silly?'  
  
"You're right," he said aloud, a little distractedly. "No one else has made me done that." He finished going through all the books in the cramped, slightly messy office, "Well, I guess that's it."  
  
That was it! Angel looked around the office in dismay as the realization sunk in. Giles didn't have the book!  
  
Suddenly, a noise caught his attention. Slipping out of the office to hide behind a bookshelf, a familiar scent of perfume and bubble gum assaulted his senses. Faith!  
  
At that moment, her dark head came into his view. Ducking back to avoid an ugly confrontation, he crept towards the double doors of the library. Looking back once last time, he watched as Faith disappeared into Giles' office. Quickly, he headed out the doors, and then out of Sunnydale High, into the sewers.  
  
The sun was just peeking up over the horizon.  
  
  
**Enroute to L.A., January 23, 2002**  
  
Willow sat in the coach bus that just pulled out of the Sunnydale bus terminal. Thinking of the phone call from the previous night, she started pulling out her laptap.  
  
'I should start reading up on time travel and body switching before I get there,' she thought to herself. 'It's a good thing I saved some files about that.' Quickly, she went over Wesley's brief summary of everything that had happened to Angel and Cordelia so far.  
  
'It's going to be so weird seeing them again,' she mused. 'Not that I haven't seen them recently, but this is different.'  
  
The last time she had seen them was when she had to break the news of Buffy's death to Angel. He had immediately known that it had to do with Buffy, and he paled, to the same shade he had been when he was still living in Sunnydale. She had steeled herself as she watched him quietly shut himself off on the inside to avoid breaking down in front of everyone, because she had expected it. What happened next gave her a huge shock.  
  
It was Cordelia snapping out of her shock to instinctively wrap her arms around the unresponsive Angel.  
  
'Oh,' Willow recalled, 'Totally didn't see that one coming.'  
  
It was so surreal, watching the former haughty somewhat friend of theirs let go of her usually icy demeanor and hug someone. It was downright unbelievable that the someone was the moody vampire. It was absolutely impossible that the Queen of Sunnydale High didn't think twice to comfort the former Evil Destroyer of Europe, as if she were soothing a cherished friend.  
  
Or a lover.  
  
Willow started at her last thought. Cordelia and Angel? No way. Shutting her thoughts from that possible pairing, she gazed out the window. When her eyes fell on the back of a honey-blonde woman walking the opposite way, she did a double-take.  
  
"Tara..." the name fell, unbidden from her lips. She watched helplessly as the woman slowly faded from her sight. For a tiny second, she fought the urge to jump off the bus and run after her. Remembering that the lovely witch had made it quite clear that she wanted to be out of her life, she sighed. 'I have to respect her wishes... give her some space. I'll be able to do that in L.A.' Turning back to the front of the bus, she rested her head against the window. Sighing one last time, she stopped thinking about her mild-mannered ex-girlfriend and flipped open her laptop.  
  
  
**Sunnydale High, November 19, 1998**  
  
It was daytime. It was schooltime. The Scooby gang was in the student lounge.   
  
Willow and Oz sat on one of the couches in the lounge. Across from the coffee table in front of them sat Xander and Cordy. For the last half hour, they had been discussing the events from the previous night. For the last twenty minutes, the main topic of debate was whether Angel and Buffy's relationship had a future.  
  
And Cordy was desperately hoping to move to the next topic.  
  
"So there's no more glove thingy?" she put in abruptly.  
  
Xander smiled faintly, "No. Little Living Flame, little mesquite, gone for good."  
  
At that, Oz deadpanned, "Sounds like we missed a lot of fun."  
  
"Then we're telling it wrong." Xander replied impatiently. Cordy let out a breath, thinking that it was the end of the conversation. Willow seemed to have other ideas.  
  
"What do you think Buffy and Angel are gonna do?" Willow asked them tentatively. Cordelia wanted to scream at her.  
  
Xander nodded, "Boy, do I don't know."  
  
Cordy fought back a glare as she swiveled her eyes towards him. 'Stop talking about them already!!' She took a deep breath in and held it.  
  
"Well, he saved me from a horrible flamey death. That sort of makes me like him again." Willow said, giving a wan smile.  
  
Xander panned, "Well, as long as she and Angel don't get pelvic, we'll be okay, I guess."  
  
Fighting back a wince due to the unbidden mental image, Cordy crossed her arms. 'Was he really like this back then?' Unnoticed, she bit her lip to stop herself from snapping at Xander for how he phrased that crude remark.  
  
At that moment, Buffy walked up the stairs to meet them. Xander immediately sat up straight.  
  
Trying to look nonchalent, but not entirely succeeding, Buffy asked her friends brightly, "What are you guys talking about?"  
  
Willow and Xander exchanged an uneasy glance. Cordy noticed the look and a lightbulb went off in her head. 'I didn't see that the first time around.'  
  
Oz decided to come clean, "Oddly enough, your boyfriend. Again."  
  
Buffy looked down sadly, "He's not my boyfriend."   
  
Cordelia bit her lip harder and then stopped, fearing that she would break the skin.  
  
Slowly, Buffy sank down onto the couch on the other side of Xander, "Really, truly, he's... (sighs) I don't know." She looked over at Xander and Cordelia. Xander returned the look right away.   
  
Cordelia wrestled with the urge to turn away, afraid that Buffy would start a row with her about the previous night. She pursed her lips and finally looked back coolly.  
  
Buffy focused on Xander and asked hesitantly, "Are we cool?"  
  
Xander eagerly answered, "Yeah! Just seeing the two of you kissing after everything that happened, I leaned toward the postal."   
  
As Xander paused, Cordy couldn't help herself from turning her head and shutting her eyes tight. 'What's with me?' she thought. 'Why can't I get a grip? I know, it's got to be Xander. He's being a jerk. That's it.'  
  
Xander continued, "But I trust you."  
  
Cordy moved her head back towards the blonde slayer. "I don't," she bit out. She stiffened her back, "Just for the record."  
  
'Why did I just say that? Great, start a fight when I shouldn't be... Angel's going to love this one!' Cordy's mind screamed.  
  
Buffy raised her eyebrows, not all that surprised, but didn't comment. Behind her Giles cleared his throat. Not even starting from surprise, she rotated around to face him. Cordy peered up to see Giles leaning against the railing with a large bandage on his left temple.  
  
"Let me guess." Buffy panned, "Gwendolyn Post: not a Watcher."  
  
Giles gently corrected her as he cautiously moved up the stairs, "Yes, she was. She was, uh, kicked out by the council a couple of years ago for misuses of dark power. They swear there was a memo."  
  
Buffy thought for a moment, "Well, I better go." To Xander, she said, "Little more damage control." Getting up, she headed out of the lounge. Cordy sighed with relief.  
  
Willow sighed when Buffy disappeared from sight, "The whole Angel thing is so weird."  
  
Cordelia smirked. 'You don't know the half of it!' she thought. Then, annoyed, she thought, 'When are they going to stop talking about Angel and the exalted one?' Frustrated that the conversation still hadn't changed, she growled. Xander shot her a startled glance, but was distracted when Giles slowly sat down at Buffy's vacated seat.  
  
Maintaining her control, Cordy pretended to look unimpressed by everything that had happened and started inspecting her nails.  
  
Giles had a concerned look etched across his face, "Yes, well, we'll have to see how that unfolds, won't we?"  
  
  
**The Hyperion, January 23, 2002**  
  
It was late afternoon when Gunn strode into the lobby, the morning paper clipped underneath his left arm. Looking around, he flung the crumpled paper onto the sofa. No one was in sight in the lobby. In fact, it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.  
  
The silence didn't last long.  
  
All of a sudden, Cordelia floated down the stairs, an open bottle of nail polish in one hand, the nail polish brush in the other. "Isn't there any hot water in this place?" she demanded as she passed by him. Without waiting for a response, she sailed on by towards the kitchen, muttering, "Doesn't anyone pay the heating bills here?"  
  
From the basement, Angel padded up to the main floor. Noticing him wearing a black t-shirt, black pants and black leather gloves, Gunn surmised that he had been doing some punches. Suddenly, a voice followed behind the vampire.  
  
"Now, I know you're not familiar with the concepts from Pylea but..."  
  
The vampire wheeled around to face the green demon behind him. For a minute, he looked ready to pick him up and effortlessly throw him over the counter. Instead, his face went expressionless as he said, "Thank you. I've learned a lot about Pylea today." Turning on his heel, he headed up the stairs quickly.  
  
At that, Lorne puffed his chest out and announced to Gunn proudly, "I think our little Angel-cakes is finally understanding."  
  
"Understanding what?" Fred asked curiously as she travelled under Gunn's nose. A whiff of strawberries and the tiny red juice spot that stained the side of her mouth betrayed what she had just been raiding.  
  
"The oppressiveness of Pylean law!" Lorne replied, delighted with himself. Humming a tune, he twirled on his spot and then leaped up the stairs. Cordelia floated by again and headed back up the stairs.  
  
Wesley appeared then, "What's gotten him so upbeat?" Without getting the response, he distractedly floated into his office.  
  
Gunn stared after him, not quite sure what was going on. Focusing on Fred still standing in front of him, he again saw the red stain by her mouth. For some reason, he reached out and wiped it from her face with his thumb. To his great astonishment, he licked his thumb.  
  
Fred was watching him, slightly open-mouthed. "Is it good?" she asked him.  
  
"Mmmm..." he mumbled, then smiled slowly. "Strawberry."  
  
"Want some?" she asked him brightly. She leaned towards him conspiratorially, "I saved some...it's hidden where only I can find it."  
  
Gunn shook his head, still grinning, "Maybe next time."  
  
Just then, Willow walked in.  
  
"What's she doing here?" an irate voice echoed throughout the lobby. Cordelia was walking down the stairs again. "Did everyone from Sunnydale follow me out here?"  
  
Willow looked a little flustered, "Uh, Wesley called for help." She laughed nervously, "Sorry, I forgot how you were before."  
  
"What does that mean?" Cordelia demanded. She turned to Fred and Gunn, "What's she talking about?"  
  
"Willow." Wesley said, relief in his voice. "You're just in time. I've been looking at the files you sent me last night but there's something I need you to explain to me..."  
  
As Wesley shepharded Willow into his office, Angel came back downstairs, having changed into another black outfit. Behind him, Lorne held Connor in his arms.  
  
"See, I told you he'd recognize his father." Lorne was prattling.  
  
Seeing the distress on Angel's face, Fred rushed forward to take Connor. Angel floated to a dark corner, but his eyes were fixed on the baby's peacefully slumbering face.  
  
"Father?" Cordelia asked, puzzled.  
  
Fred handed Connor to Cordelia before she had time to react. "Angel is Connor's father," she clarified.  
  
Shock spread across Cordelia's face. "That's not possible."  
  
"That can't be possible." Willow said behind her. She looked stricken.  
  
Wesley came out from behind her. Steering her towards the sofa, he gently said to her, "It is. It's true."  
  
"But..." Willow looked up at Cordelia, "Who's the mother?"  
  
Sensing Willow's eyes on her, Cordelia asked incredulously, "Me?" Afraid that she might drop Connor, Fred rushed towards her. However, Cordelia only tightened her grip on the baby in her arms.  
  
"No," Wesley answered with a half smile. "It was someone else."  
  
"Was?" Willow questioned.  
  
Wesley looked helplessly at Fred and Gunn. "I don't think I should be the one to tell you."  
  
"Tell us," Cordelia said, a warning tone in her voice.  
  
Wesley sighed, "It was Darla."  
  
"But she's dead," Willow and Cordelia both exclaimed.  
  
"It's a long story." Fred said, by ways of an explanation.  
  
Cordelia instinctively held Connor closer to her and started cooing, "Oh, you poor baby." Angel suddenly appeared at Cordelia's elbow. She noticed him staring at Connor in amazement and turned away from him, "Quit drooling like a thirsty vampire. You don't want to scare him."  
  
Embarrassed, Angel backed up a few steps, still maintaining a steady gaze on his son.  
  
Willow continued sitting on the sofa. "How's that possible? Why didn't Angel tell me?" A hurt expression flickered across her, "Why didn't Angel tell Buffy?"  
  
Wesley cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, but we don't have time to go into all this now. Angel and Cordy are still stuck in 1998... we have no idea how they're faring right now and whether history is going to change drastically." He went back into his office.  
  
Willow took a curious look at Connor's face before reluctantly following Wesley back into the office.  
  
Cordelia took the vacated seat on the sofa. Rocking the baby a bit, she looked at Fred and Gunn, "We're not doing anything right now. So, are you going fill us in or what?"  
  
Gunn and Fred exchanged an uneasy look. Seeing it, Angel spoke up.  
  
"Please," Angel pleaded quietly, "I'd like to know."  
  
Giving a little shrug, Gunn said to the vampire, "Where should I start?"  
  
  
**Crummy motel in Sunnydale, November 19, 1998**   
  
Faith lay on the bed in her motel room, flipping through a magazine and watching Dragnet in black and white. On the TV screen, a man opened his door to talk with the officers.  
  
The main character said to the man, "Police officers. My name's Friday, this is..."  
  
A knock sounded on Faith's door.  
  
"Come in," Faith called out.  
  
Buffy opened the door, peeked in and then stepped into the room. "Hey," she greeted the other slayer.  
  
The man on the television continued, "Called the police just a little while ago. Talked to a man down there. I didn't get his name, though."  
  
Buffy turned towards Faith, "The place looks nice."  
  
Faith gave a half-shrug, "Yeah, it's real Spartan."  
  
On screen, Friday asked the man, "Can you show us where they broke in, please?"  
  
"How are you?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Five-by-five." Faith responded.  
  
Buffy looked a little puzzled, "I'll interpret that as good."  
  
Faith didn't respond again but continued paging through the magazine.  
  
Buffy tried again, "Look, Gwendolyn Post, or whoever she may be, had us all fooled. Even Giles."  
  
Without looking up, Faith snorted, "Yeah, well, you can't trust people. I should've learned that by now."  
  
Buffy attempted to regain her trust, "I realize this is gonna sound funny coming from someone that just spent a lot of time kicking your face... but you can trust me."  
  
Faith looked up at her, amused, as she tossed the magazine aside. "Is that right?"  
  
Buffy fought back a sigh, "I know I kept secrets, but I didn't have a choice. I'm on your side."  
  
Faith gestured towards herself, and nodded, "I'm on my side, and that's enough."  
  
Buffy shook her head, "Not always."  
  
Faith shrugged, "Is that it?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Buffy said sadly.  
  
"Alright. Well then, I'll see you." Faith averted her eyes and stared at the television screen.  
  
Taking the hint, Buffy turned to go.  
  
Faith shook her head, thinking of what she saw Angel do the other night. "Uh, Buffy?"  
  
Buffy faced her again, looking expectantly, "Yeah?"  
  
Faith wavered for a long moment, reconsidering her decision. 'What was the point?' she thought. 'Those blinders will never come off anyway... at least not without proof.'  
  
"Nothing." she told the blonde girl.  
  
Buffy lowered her eyes in disappointment. Slowly she turned back to the door, opened it and left. Faith looked around her room, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Alone again in her room, she stared out of the window to watch Buffy walk away from the motel. After a long moment, she turned back to the TV. Not seeing what was in front of her, she determined to follow Angel until she could drive a wedge between him and Buffy.  
  
  
**The Hyperion, January 23, 2002**  
  
Night had fallen and the Hyperion Hotel was bustling with noise. Cordelia sat on the sofa in the middle of the lobby, still playing with Connor. After Gunn's explanation of Connor's existence, with occasional supplementing from Fred, Angel had seemingly completely overcome his aversion to Connor. He hovered over Cordelia and Connor protectively.  
  
Pondering an article that he had just read, Wesley strode around them. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the first caption of the newspaper that still lay crumpled on the sofa from that morning. "What's this?" he asked Gunn.  
  
"Oh, some employee at Wolfram & Hart was found dead in my hood," Gunn responded. "Lot of the bro's were brought in for questioning but no arrests were made... it was all for show. Bet it was an inside job."  
  
"Willow, could you try hacking into Wolfram & Hart's computer files and see if you can find out more information on this ..." Wesley read the name on the front, "Gerald Morgan." Willow nodded and turned to her computer.  
  
"Yo, English, I don't know what the big deal is. Murders happen all the time. My gang always gets pulled in for stuff we didn't do." Gunn said, confused.  
  
"But this is a murder concerning a shady law firm." Angel cut in, his tone soft and serious. "I read your case files on them. If they're so powerful and corrupt, they would have swept this under the carpet. We never would have heard about it." the vampire turned to Wesley, "They're sending a message out, aren't they?"  
  
"Quite right," Wesley nodded, surprised at the vampire's insight. Then, he asked thoughtfully. "The question is, to whom?"  
  
"It looks like we're not going to find out." Willow spoke up from behind her laptop. "Their firewall's really heavily protected. I could get through if I was on the inside."  
  
Cordelia looked up at Willow's last comment, shocked that the redhead was willing to jump into action.  
  
"I need you to stay with me and continue the research from here." Wesley said to Willow.  
  
"I might be able to get past it if someone were to hack in from the inside and patch some security codes through to me." Willow said, scrunching her forehead.  
  
"I could do it." Fred said shyly. "If you tell me what I would have to do."  
  
"I'm with you." Gunn jumped in.  
  
"You'll need backup." Wesley turned to Angel, "You did say you wanted to help."  
  
"I'm on it." Angel said grimly, a glint in his eye.  
  
"Wait, so I'm just supposed to wait here with the baby?" Cordelia demanded loudly. She got up from the sofa, hoisting Connor into Lorne's arms and planted herself beside Angel. "If everyone's helping out, so am I."  
  
Wesley nodded, shooting an appreciative smile towards the four would-be heroes. "Fred, Gunn, make sure you've got your cell phones but set it on vibrate so it doesn't make any noises. And please, all of you, be careful."  
  
**The Chase Sunnydale home, November 19, 1998**  
  
Angel doubled back to ensure that Faith had not followed him out. As soon as Angel was satisfied that he was in the clear, he headed to the Chase house. Standing outside on the front lawn behind a large maple tree, he realized that he had no idea which room was Cordelia's. Looking at the position of the moon, he decided it was too late for some strange guy to knock on the door and ask her parents to lead him to her room.  
  
'Yeah, that would go over real well,' he thought. However, a little part of him was tempted, curious to meet the parents that she was so tight-lipped about. Plus, just seeing what her reaction would be if he did do that would be well worth the staking that he would surely get from her afterwards.  
  
'Stop it," he told himself. 'This is serious.' He cursed the bit of Liam that was still very much a part of him. 'Play time can come after we're back to normal.'  
  
Focusing on finding Cordy, he circled the house, methodically peering into each room. When he reached the only open window in the house, he peeked into the room through the parted curtains that were billowing inward. Cordelia lay flat on her stomach on her bed in a yellow tank top and comfortable gray stretch pants. Her long hair was swept up into a loose ponytail and she was reading from a spiral notebook, a smile playing across her lips. Considering that she always looked like she had stepped off a fashion magazine when she was in high school, this youthful appearance was incredibly refreshing. Angel couldn't help grinning at the happy sight. Content with watching her for a moment, he paused at her window as she started chewing on the edge of a pencil thoughtfully. When she bent over the notebook to start writing in it, the hair at the end of her ponytail fell forward to kiss her cheeks lightly.  
  
Angel didn't realize that his breath caught in his throat as he moved forward to brush the hair aside.  
  
And for the second time in two nights, he was stopped by an invisible barrier. Slightly frustrated, he suppressed a growl. He decided to make his presence known the conventional way.  
  
"Knock knock," he called in. With a start, Cordy looked up. When she saw him at the window, she shot him a mega-watt smile and pushed herself off the bed to rush over to him.  
  
"I'm so glad you're finally here!" she exclaimed. "I've been living the Sunnydale life of boooooredom today." Suddenly noticing him hovering outside her window, she asked, puzzled, "Why aren't you coming in?"  
  
"I haven't been invited." he reminded her. Then realizing that Cordelia had never invited him in, he started to say, "Wait," as Cordy said, "Come in."  
  
"Uh..." Angel said. Cordy clapped her hand over her mouth.  
  
"This isn't supposed to happen, is it?" she asked. "Is this bad?"  
  
Angel considered the possibilities. "I guess not," he said finally. "The only danger is if Angelus ever reappeared, and according to our past, he's not showing up."  
  
"Okay," Cordy sighed in relief. "Well, are you waiting for an engraved invitation? Come on in." Grabbing his arm, she pulled him in. He climbed into the room and feeling a little out of his element, stood awkwardly by the window.  
  
"So," Cordy began, climbing back onto her bed gracefully, "How do we get back? Hey, where's the book?"  
  
"Giles doesn't have it." Angel replied. "We have to think of some other way of finding the book."  
  
"You only checked his library, right? Maybe he's got it at home," Cordy suggested. "Because, that's what book-loving Watchers with no life read on Friday nights."  
  
Angel shot her a slightly disdainful look, "Back to the deprecating comments, I see."  
  
Cordy glared at him to cover her embarrasment, "I prefer to look at it as having 'bite'... you know, being honest." Switching the topic back, she shot back, "Guess this means you never checked his apartment."  
  
"No," Angel admitted. "Good thinking, I'll get on it."  
  
Cordy scrambled up, "Goody, excitement."  
  
Angel strode over to her, his discomfort forgotten. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her back down onto the bed. "No way. We can't afford any complications. Someone could see us together, and Buffy is already suspicious. Besides, Faith is still on the warpath." At Cordy's confused look, he filled her in on Faith following him into the library.  
  
Cordy stood up again, "I can be cautious."  
  
He pushed her back down again. "You don't know how determined Faith can be."  
  
"Oh and you do?" Cordy argued from her position seated on the bed. "I can be determined too. I can handle myself."  
  
Angel detected the note of hostility in her voice. "It's not that."  
  
"Then what?" she said, looking up at him with a glare in her eyes. He couldn't answer her for a minute. As he tried to think of a way to convince her to see his way, his eyes fell on the open notebook.  
  
"Hey, is this a diary?" he exclaimed, his interest piqued. He reached out to pick the book up.  
  
"No!" Cordy cried, snatching the book away and shutting it. Angel looked bewildered, stunned that she had beaten his lightening quick vampire reflexes.  
  
"Isn't that interesting..." he teased, "Spilling your secret feelings for me?"  
  
Cordy stood up, trembling in anger. "It's personal," she told him. Then, a little more calmly, she said, "I wrote an entry practically every night while I was in Sunnydale. I have to continue with it to maintain the timeline, remember?"  
  
"Okay," Angel conceded. When Cordy nodded, and relaxed a bit, he suddenly threw himself at her, grabbing at the notebook.   
  
Cordy twisted her arm away, but lost her balance and suddenly they were on her bed, squirming around. "What are you doing?" she asked him in disbelief.  
  
"I just want to see what you wrote about Xander!" Angel pleaded, reaching over her to grab at it again. "It's always been a mystery as to what you saw in that guy!"  
  
"As opposed to what Buffy saw in you?" she snipped back. Missing the notebook, Angel grabbed her stomach to hold her in place. "No way, broody boy!" she cried. She giggled under him, as he started stroking her stomach, "Hey, that tickles!"  
  
"That was the idea," he smirked. He playfully wagged his eyebrows and wiggled his fingers above her. "Let me introduce to you my hidden talents!" he shouted and started tickling her ribcage.  
  
Cordy scrunched up automatically, gasping for air, "Oh, my, oh, stop, ah!"  
  
"Oh I'm so sorry!" a woman said.  
  
Cordy and Angel looked up at her now open bedroom door and saw a stout woman carrying towels, her mouth hanging open.  
  
"Maria." Cordy exclaimed, getting off the bed. Noticing that her tank top had ridden up her stomach, she hastily pulled it down. Regaining her composure, she said in her best snooty voice, "What did I say about knocking first?"  
  
"I did." the woman protested. She opened her mouth again, but Cordy cut her short.  
  
"That'll be all," Cordy said curtly, taking the towels from the woman's hands. "Shut the door behind you."  
  
Nodding, the woman shuffled out of the room and when the door shut, Cordy turned around to stare at Angel. For a minute, silence reigned.  
  
"Who was that?" Angel asked finally.  
  
"The maid." Cordy answered quietly. Suddenly she let out a laugh, "Lord knows what she must be thinking."  
  
Angel thought for a moment, then chuckled with her, "We were screaming pretty loudly." All of a sudden, they both became serious, slightly embarrassed.  
  
"Oh well," Cordy said to break the tension, "I'll just beg her not to say anything to my parents." She opened a drawer in the nighttable beside the bed and hastily stuffed the notebook and towels in.  
  
"You, beg?" Angel gently queried, a glint in his eyes.  
  
Cordy sent him a glare.  
  
"Never mind," Angel said, putting his hands up. "I should get going to Giles' place now."  
  
Cordy headed towards the window with him. "Yes, WE should."  
  
"Cordy."  
  
"Angel."  
  
After a brief staring down, Angel couldn't help an impulsive smile. "We have to be careful," he warned her.  
  
"I always am," she smiled sweetly and climbed out the window.  
  
Angel poked his head out of the window. Cordy was clinging onto the ledge, her feet stuck to the sloping roof under her window. "Forget you can't fly?" he asked with a bemused expression on his face.  
  
"Oh crap!" she simply replied, staring at the ground below. Stamping one foot lightly, then freezing when her feet started sliding downwards, she lamented, "Damn, that was such a good exit too!"  
  
Failing to contain a hearty laugh, Angel sprang out the window and grabbed her by the waist. Before she could register what happened, she was safely on the ground.  
  
"Don't I get a thank you?" Angel questioned jokingly, tilting his head at her. He watched as a myriad of emotions slid by her face: delight, indignation, frustration, and then...  
  
"My hero." she answered affectionately. Then, tinkling with laughter, she sprinted towards Giles' house.  
  
Staring after her, Angel shook his head. 'I'll never understand that woman,' and quickly made his way after her in the night.  
  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~   
  
Disclaimers: I'm only writing for amusement and because I'm such a fan! Angel and co. aren't mine. And those scenes from 3rd season Buffy? Ain't mine for sure!  



	11. Thick As Thieves

A/N: I'm so glad you guys don't mind that this story has been soooooooo long. I've got a little question to ask you all at the end of my story. It contains a slight spoiler for the next chapters (and possibly the rest of the story), but I would really appreciate some direction. Thanks!  
  
So far: A man from Wolfram & Hart was murdered last chapter. Past!Angel, Past!Cordelia, Gunn and Fred are about to find out what the scummy lawyers from Wolfram and Hart are up to. Present!Cordy and Present!Angel go to Giles' apartment to look for the spell book. By the way, I'm taking great liberties with the Buffy 3rd season time-line (i.e. not synchronizing with air dates) from here on in.  
  
  
*Chapter 11: Thick As Thieves*  
(c) May 17, 2002  
  
  
~~ Outside Wolfram & Hart, January 23, 2002 ~~  
  
Gunn's truck pulled up a block away from the Wolfram and Hart building. Angel sprang from the back of the truck as the other three stepped out from the front. Rounding the corner facing the law firm, the four surveyed the scene before them.  
  
"How do we get in?" Cordelia asked.  
  
'Figures she'd be the first person to say something.' Gunn thought, grinning to himself.  
  
"I'll get us in." Angel said in a low voice. "Meet me on the east side." Before any of the others could react, he had disappeared around the back.  
  
Gunn shook his head, 'Damn! Can't keep up with that bro.' He started walking to the east side of the building.  
  
"Okay, so we're supposed to wait until the big guns come calling?" Cordelia pouted.  
  
"Our vamp's gonna get us in." Gunn replied, pulling the others to the side of the building. He stared at the only closed door on that side. 'No doubt about it.'  
  
Cordelia continued to complain. "And how's he's going to do that? Say open sesame?" she demanded. As she said that, the door swung open.  
  
'Not a moment too soon.' Gunn thought with relief.  
  
Angel poked his head out, "What are you waiting for?" Gunn and Fred followed him silently.  
  
Cordelia wasn't as silent. "Okay, how did you do that without all the alarms going?"  
  
Fred answered for Angel, "He went through the sewers to the security room, took out the guards, and then shut off the cameras." Turning to Angel, she noticed that he was still unresponsive. "Willow found the blueprints of the building." As Cordelia's mouth opened, Fred responded, "They came from the city archives."  
  
'Thatta girl.' Gunn smirked in pride as Cordelia closed her mouth for the moment.  
  
Angel turned a corner ahead of them, "Server's room is up ahead."  
  
Cordelia was a little peeved. "Was everyone in on the plan except me?"  
  
"We don't have time for this," Angel muttered.  
  
Gunn turned around, not wanting to regret bringing Cordelia along. "Okay, okay," he said reassuringly, "We're all in this now." At the stubborn look on the short-haired brunette's face, he put his hands up, "You'll be able to contribute plenty later."  
  
Getting to the closed server room, Angel hurled himself at the door. It instantly flew open. Immediately, Fred sat at one of the consoles. A few screens popped up as she gained access to the server.  
  
Gunn whistled with admiration as he called up the Hyperion. "Yo, English, our girl's in." he said when Wesley answered the phone. Handing the cell phone to Fred, he said, "Willow's on for you."  
  
Fred's fingers flew on the keyboard, "Uh huh. Okay, uh huh. Okay, rerouting to a pass-through network."  
  
Angel and Gunn exchanged a glance.  
  
"I don't know what they're doing." Gunn admitted behind the seated willowy girl.  
  
Angel shrugged, unperturbed. Cordelia watched the screen and Fred's fingers carefully.  
  
"And you've got access to the administrator id now." Fred finished. She paused, then frowned slightly. "Where?" Clicking a few buttons, an email folder popped up on-screen.  
  
Gunn leaned over Fred's shoulder to read out loud, "Have advised Lilah of her cousin's involvement and untimely demise. Current status: Lilah reviewing Project T implications."  
  
Fred gave him a puzzled look, "Wow... What's Project T? Oh, hang on." She turned around to tell the tall man still leaning over her, "Wesley says to go to Lilah's office and look for the files. Willow doesn't see them on file anywhere."  
  
"Where is it?" Gunn asked her, "Angel's the only one who knows where her office is." Glancing at Angel, he amended, "I mean the other one." When the vampire turned from him, Gunn grimaced, "Oops."  
  
Fred pointed to the screen, "It's the top floor."  
  
"I'll go." Angel offered.  
  
Gunn tipped a phone towards the vampire before he could depart, "Speed dial 1 gets us. 2 gets the Hyperion."  
  
Cordelia perked noticeably, "I'm coming too."  
  
"It'll be faster alone." Angel said to her in his low voice.  
  
"You want to help. I want to help. Besides, what's the point of me standing around here?" Cordelia reasoned.  
  
Gunn fought down a sigh that had been building up from the moment they stepped into the building. "I wouldn't argue with her," he said to Angel, "If you know what's good for you."  
  
Angel turned to Cordelia harshly, "Fine. Keep up."  
  
Gunn watched briefly as the warrior and his future Seer disappeared from his sight. To Fred, he said to her, "Okay, we should close down here and clear out. We'll wait for them outside."  
  
  
~~ Giles' apartment, November 19, 1998 ~~  
  
The lights were off throughout a quiet apartment. Suddenly, a light filtered in as the door opened.  
  
"See?" Angel smirked, "Told you nobody's home."  
  
"Yeah, well, I can't believe that anyone would be able to hear a heartbeat through that door." Cordy grumbled as they entered the empty home.  
  
Angel grinned, "Oh ye of little faith. That and a few other hidden talents came in handy when I was still hunting for prey. You have yet to discover them." He shot a mischieviously boyish glance at her as they started scanning the Watcher's multiple bookshelves.  
  
Cordy rolled her eyes, "Like hypnotizing a few damsels in distress? Bet that would make you a real Dracula."  
  
"Don't knock it till you've seen me in action." Angel sniffed. "I was a charmer in my day."  
  
"Right and you've mellowed out in your golden years." Cordelia shot back. "Speaking of which... where's Giles?"  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
"Ha! Probably has his nose stuck in a book in the library still." Cordy picked up the book lying on the coffee table, "Or maybe Giles has a date!"  
  
Shooting her an exasperated look, Angel said to her, "I'm sure Giles has a social life outside of being a Watcher."  
  
Opening the book in her hands, Cordy commented, "Hmmm... Dating for Dummies... wonder how he would be at giving out dating advice."  
  
"Let's just find the book." Angel said as he disappeared into the bedroom.  
  
"A little light reading, huh?" Cordy asked when she saw him reappear two seconds later, the thick volume in his hand.  
  
"To each his own hobbies." Angel shrugged. Suddenly, he froze, hearing soft footfalls outside the front door. "He's back."  
  
"What do we do?" Cordy hissed, as a key was inserted into the lock.  
  
"Quick. Back in the bedroom." Angel said, waving the brunette to follow him.  
  
"And do what?" Without thinking, she pushed him back into the room and turned around to stand in the living room. "Maybe I can distract him."  
  
"Cordy..." She shushed him and then rotated on her heels when she heard the door open.  
  
Giles stared at the tall brunette standing in the middle of his living room. "Cor-Cordelia? What are you doing here?"  
  
Cordelia couldn't think of a thing to say, "Uhm..."  
  
  
~~ Inside Wolfram & Hart, January 23, 2002 ~~  
  
Cordelia ran to catch up with Angel's long strides, panting deep breaths. She had been doing that for the last eight minutes as they ran up the stairwell and through long dark hallways looking for Lilah Morgan's office. While in high school, she kept in good shape following the strict cheerleading diet and regimen. However, it was obvious to herself that since she'd left high school, she had not been sticking to it. She halted and leaned her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Glaring at the dark back that was rapidly getting further away again, she secretly hoped that they would find the office soon.  
  
At that moment, the tall figure in front of her paused and with a swift push, broke into a locked office. Cordelia stood up straight again and headed towards the only open office. The door that was now swung open had the name 'Lilah Morgan' printed on the gold plate. Peering in, she saw a silent Angel rifling through the papers on the desk. Cordelia came in and started scanning the bookshelves behind the desk.  
  
"You know, you could be a little more grateful," she said witheringly.  
  
"For what?" Angel asked gruffly.  
  
"For keeping you company." Cordelia answered matter-of-factly.  
  
"I didn't ask for it. I don't need it."  
  
"Well, you will." Cordelia replied loftily.  
  
"I doubt it." he replied.  
  
Cordelia bit her tongue, a hot retort on the tip of it. 'This won't help him see how useful I am!' she thought. Looking at the files that Angel had just gone through on the desk, she had an idea. Leaning over the chair, she turned on the computer.  
  
"Willow checked that already." Angel told her.  
  
"Maybe she didn't." she replied.  
  
"She told that girl, Fred, that she had."  
  
"No, she told Fred that there's nothing else on the network. She didn't check Lilah's personal computer files."  
  
Angel didn't answer for a minute, "How do you know this?"  
  
"Doesn't everybody?" At the growl that Angel gave, she explained to him, "I took computer classes last semester. Now, what was that id again? Right, administrator." Typing in the administrator's password, she murmurred, "Hopefully, she didn't encrypt all her personal files."  
  
After a minute, the vampire impatiently asked, "Well?"  
  
"Project T? That was the name of it?"  
  
"Yeah." Angel shook his head in amazement, "You found it."  
  
"There's quite a bit on the guy who got murdered and whatever this project is." Cordelia said, reading the file names. "There's also mention of some stone... Stones of Egrassa?"  
  
"We can go over this later." Angel decided. "How do we take this with us?"  
  
Cordelia pondered his question. "I need to save this or... send it or something. We need to dial Willow."  
  
The vampire stared at the phone for a minute. Seeing his uncertainty, Cordelia took the phone out of his hand and flipped it open. "Just press 2 and then the talk sign." He silently observed as she dialed. "Wesley. We need Willow for a sec." After a moment, she spoke again, "Willow, you need to copy some files. Can you get to the z:\ directory on the Corporate network? Okay, copying... it's there."  
  
Angel watched her, an unreadable look on his face. Nervously, Cordelia focused on the witch's voice, "Got it? Great."  
  
"So, what do we do now?" His tone was soft and much gentler than earlier in the evening.  
  
Cordelia gave him a half-smile, "We leave."  
  
As they turned to go, they stopped short at the sight of a blond man at the door. "I don't think so," he said.  
  
  
~~ Giles' apartment, November 19, 1998 ~~  
  
Giles stared expectantly at the pretty girl before him. "How did you get in?"  
  
Innocently looking at him, Cordy lied, "Your door was open."  
  
"But I just unlocked the..."  
  
"You didn't expect me to sit all alone in your apartment with the door wide open, did you? This is the Hellmouth." she cut him off.  
  
"Yes, quite right. I just wasn't expecting you, that's all. So... what exactly are you doing here?" Giles asked curiously.  
  
A little too brightly, Cordy chirped, "Waiting for you." Seeing the expression on Giles face, she hastily added, "To get advice from you."  
  
"Oh." Giles responded a little apprehensively. Cordelia waited for him to say something else, nervously thinking up what she needed advice for. "What about?"  
  
Cordy blinked, "Ummm... this is a little embarrassing." 'Think!' she berated herself. "It's about...ummm..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Dating." As soon as that one word flew out of her mouth, she felt like stuffing it back in.  
  
"Excuse me? D-did I hear you correctly?" Giles stuttered.  
  
'No, you didn't,' she thought. Then, she reconsidered and mentally patted herself on the back, 'This could be fun!' She opened her mouth, "That's right. I need dating advice from you."   
  
"Oh, well, wouldn't your mother, or friends..."  
  
'Trying to get out of it? Bet the B-one didn't ask about this.' Cordy smirked. "Please. My mother wouldn't be able to advise a fly. And my friends? Blabbers or it concerns them. Nope. You're the expert I seek. Besides, you read about practically everything, right? You must be this wealth of knowledge. Theoretical, at least." Cordy held her breath, 'Just eat it up.'  
  
"You might be right there." Giles said thoughtfully.  
  
"Great," Cordy enthused. "See, there's this guy I like, who I'm not going to name. But I think he's in love with someone else." She paused as Giles coughed politely. "In fact, he's been in love with her from practically day one since they're, like, all fated to be together. If this was a fictional story, fans would be rooting for them together. They'd be legendary... star-crossed lovers practically. Like Romeo and Juliet."  
  
"Yes, I think I get the point." Giles nodded.  
  
"Right. So, like I said. I like him, but he likes her. What should I do?" Cordy batted her eyelashes at him, trying to generate some tears. 'Might as well make this an Oscar performance,' she laughed to herself.  
  
Giles sat down on his couch, "Perhaps you should talk to him. Tell him how you really feel."  
  
"Are you completely forgetting high school social stigma?" Cordy exclaimed. "If anyone else found out, I'd be a total outcast."  
  
"Well, Cordelia, it's no secret that you're dating ..."  
  
"No names!" she screeched furiously. As Giles shrank before her eyes, she fought a giggle. 'Golden globe academy... eat your heart out at what you missed!' Remembering the vampire in the next room, she desperately wanted to see his reaction. 'On second thought, he might take it to his head and think that I'm talking about him. Maybe I went overboard with the whole tragic sappy stuff.'  
  
Giles' next comment brought her back to reality, "Are you sure he's in love with this other girl?"  
  
Cordy whirled around, not knowing how to react. 'What's with me?' she thought. Turning back around, she said to the librarian sorrowfully, "They have this undeniable electric thing going between them. And, he's all touchy-feely and broody and hormonal around her."  
  
Giles started at the word 'hormonal'. "Cordelia," he said hesitantly, "perhaps you'd like to have this conversation with someone else."  
  
Opening her mouth to protest, she suddenly felt a breeze coming from within the bedroom. "Well, perhaps you're right," she concurred. She brazenly smiled at his befuddled expression, "Giles, you're so smart."   
  
Glancing over her shoulder as she made a quick exit, she saw Giles staring after her, his face a look of utter confusion.  
  
  
~~ Inside Wolfram & Hart, January 23, 2002 ~~  
  
Before she could register what happened, Angel swiftly grabbed the mystery man by the throat and lifted him to the wall. "What are you going to do to stop us?" he growled, changing to his game face.  
  
The blond man lifted his hands up in resignation, "I'm not here to bust you." Angel only tightened his grip. Cordelia watched as the man pinned against the wall gasped in pain.  
  
"Angel!" Cordelia exclaimed. "You're hurting him!"  
  
"That's the plan." Angel replied, licking his lips.  
  
"Stop it! We haven't even heard him out." Cordelia said, whacking the vampire's arm. Despite the pain, the stranger gave a short laugh at the sight of the woman hitting the fierce vampire.  
  
Angel growled again but lowered the man to the ground. Letting him go reluctantly, he reverted back to his human face and kept a careful eye on the man.  
  
Cordelia swept her eyes over the new man. He wasn't as tall as the vampire, but he was definitely what she would call a 'hottie.' Plus, from his demeanor and outfit, she had a feeling that he was a man to be reckoned with. And did she ever want to be the one reckoning with him. Seeing the dark roots just peeking out underneath his blond hair, she realized that he had naturally dark hair. 'Well, well, well, I always had a thing for dark-haired bad boys...'  
  
"Last time we met, we weren't exactly friends, but..." the man paused and flexed his shoulder back, as if to relieve some lingering pain.  
  
"Oh I'm sure we were." Cordelia murmurred, flashing an appreciative grin at him and inching closer. Angel squinted his eyes with distrust.  
  
The man shot them an amused look, "Actually, I might have tried to kill you... or at least worked for the people who attempted that." He grinned, as Angel growled again.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure that's bygones now..." Cordelia waved.  
  
The vampire grabbed him again, "Tell me why I shouldn't rip you apart right now."  
  
"Hey I'm on your side, remember?" the man protested. Then, staring at his face, he said, puzzled, "You don't remember. You guys okay?" He looked at Cordelia's beaming smile and Angel's suspicious stare, "You seem the same as usual... all anxious about your Seer."  
  
"Who?" Cordelia asked.  
  
The man shook his head, "Please say you guys aren't from another year. Please say you didn't switch."  
  
"Uh huh." Cordelia nodded, smiling widely. "For the better."  
  
At that moment, the phone started vibrating in Angel's hand. Flipping it open as he had seen Cordelia do earlier, the vampire barked, "Yeah?" Suddenly he grabbed Cordelia's arm, "We've got to go. Gunn says that the place is surrounded from the outside."  
  
Cordelia was amazed, "What? How?"  
  
The man stared at the computer screen that was still on. "You accessed Lilah's files."  
  
Cordelia beamed proudly, "That was me."  
  
"Each time private files are accessed, a log is kept." the man told her gently.  
  
"Oh." Cordelia said, crest-fallen. "How do we get out?"  
  
The man gave her a lopsided smile and winked, "This building practically used to be home to me. I know how to get out without the storm troopers knowing." Turning to Angel, he smirked, "It'll be right up your alley."  
  
  
~~ Outside Giles' apartment, November 20, 1998 ~~  
  
The evening air was cool but pleasant. No one was on the streets or the sidewalks except the Sunnydale cheerleader.  
  
Cordy walked slowly, listening to the sounds of her shoes. Suddenly, she paused and smiled without turning around. "I can hear you breathing behind me."  
  
Immediately appearing behind her, Angel breathed into her ear, "Liar. What took you so long?" He whirled her around. His face was darkened but gentle as his eyes rested on hers.  
  
She swallowed hard. "Had to get some help from Mr. Lovelorn." Something in his voice made her wonder exactly what he had gotten from her conversation with Giles. She made a shaky joke, "I think Giles is going to give Lorne a run for his money."  
  
Circling her like prey, Angel shot her a smile that she could only describe as dangerous. "That's not a pretty picture."  
  
Cordy whacked him on the arm, trying to ignore the goosebumps raised on her arms. "Not literally!" Pointing at the book, she bubbled, "So, we got the book! Home, here we come!"  
  
"Almost." Angel said as he caught her hand. "We need to do something first."  
  
Cordy was very aware of the strong hand that held hers. "You mean, find Kate," she guessed as she wrested her hand away and kept her heart beating at a normal rate. 'Why was she suddenly finding it hard to breathe normally?' She peeked at him under her eyelashes.  
  
"Right," Angel said, not showing any of his emotions.  
  
"She said she was in Vegas, right? Maybe we should call her precinct." Cordy suggested, relieved that they were relating normally again.  
  
"Good thinking." Angel nodded as he headed to the telephone booth at the corner. "Do you have coins?"  
  
She rolled her eyes, "What, no credit cards?"  
  
Angel smiled in amusement. "Haven't I loaned you enough money in the past? I seem to recall a pair of red strappy shoes..."  
  
Cordy pouted. "And here I thought vampires have no sense of fashion. Okay, okay."  
  
"Thanks..." He dialed the operator to get the Los Angeles police department and then the precinct they were looking for. "Hello, could I speak to Detective Kate Lockley? Oh? For how long? Okay. Thanks."  
  
"Well?" Cordy asked expectantly.  
  
"She's still on case in Vegas." Angel replied. "Apparently, for the next week."  
  
"So when do we leave?" Cordy asked.  
  
Angel let out a half-sigh. "Cordy, I let you come with me tonight. But going to Vegas?"  
  
"Hey, I could use a road trip." Cordy shone her winning smile.  
  
"Not unless you went on one in November 1998." Angel said sternly, but he was smiling.  
  
She knew she was winning the argument. "Angel... please?"  
  
He shook his head, "Cordy, I know you're bored, but..."  
  
"What about when you find Kate? Shouldn't we just say the spell right away so we can get back to normal?" Cordy reasoned.  
  
He considered it for a minute. "Nice try. We should be in Sunnydale when we say the spell. Otherwise, we'd be in danger of messing up the future for our former selves."  
  
Cordy got excited suddenly. "But I've got the perfect excuse to explain why I would be away. Harmony's cousin invited us to San Francisco over the weekend but Harmony never showed up. When I went, I didn't see her cousin all weekend."  
  
"Cordelia, I can't believe you sometimes," he shook his head.  
  
She was quiet for a minute. "I'm not making it up. I--I just never told anyone before. It wasn't exactly the best time of my life. I stayed in a hotel by myself and pretended to have had the time of my life when I came back. I realized that day that I didn't really have any friends to count on and be with."  
  
"I'm sorry." Angel said to her quietly. He reached for her hand again. It was a minute of uncertainty and temptation as she watched his fingers caress her wrist.  
  
In the last minute, she snatched her hand away from his grasp. This time, she didn't look to see if he reacted.  
  
"It's not like anyone important saw me that weekend. How's that for convenience?" she asked, staring at the ground.  
  
For a long moment he didn't say anything. "It does give you an excuse." he replied softly.  
  
"So that's a yes?" she asked carefully.  
  
He froze at that moment. "Shh..." Clamping his hand over her mouth, he pulled her behind a bush. As she wondered what was going on, he whispered, "I heard something."  
  
It was another, more terrible moment of waiting. For those overdrawn seconds, all she could feel was the strong arm holding her to the hard body behind her. All she could hear was her ragged breathing and heart pounding. Closing her eyes to calm herself, she briefly thought how well they fit together. 'No... Don't think it. This is Angel!'  
  
A leaf rustled and they froze as one as they watched a man in jogging clothes waltz by.  
  
"Okay, you can take your hand away." Cordy mumbled.  
  
Still tense, Angel took the hand covering her mouth away, but kept the one around her stomach that was holding her to him. "I thought..."  
  
A little more curt than she intended, she pulled away. "She's gone. We're in the clear now."  
  
He relaxed a bit. "You're probably right."  
  
Trying to calm herself, she laughed in mock shock, "Did you just say I was right? Call the presses!"  
  
Angel looked around furtively. "Okay, not so loud."  
  
She stopped giggling. "So, we hit the road as soon as the sun sets tomorrow...or should I say tonight?"  
  
"You've got it all figured out, don't you?" Angel said good-naturedly. "It's a plan. Let's get you home."  
  
Behind the bushes, fifteen feet away, a shadow had seen and heard that entire exchange. It grew taller as a dark haired vampire slayer emerged, making plans of her own.  
  
  
Question: (Contains a slight spoiler for this story) Help me please! There could be a 'treasure hunt' of sorts in the present, so I want to know if you want to keep the rest of the story in L.A. or if you want it world-wide. Personally I want to go international but it could get convoluted to read, complicated to write, make the story much much longer, and well, it could be fun right? You just have to suspend your disbelief (like you haven't already...). So, let me know! :) Oh yah, and feedback would be gold. Thanks! 


	12. Splitting History

Chapter 12: Splitting History  
(c) May 20, 2002, May 21, 2002  
  
Special A/N: Thanks to David Falkayn for helping me correct a Buffy 3rd season timeline oversight! It's been corrected here (see if you can figure it out!)  
  
Feedback would be much appeciated. And if you want this story, please ask for permission at hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com. Thanks.  
  
  
So far: The Fang Gang breaks into W&H to get some information about this mysterious project. They run into an old acquaintance there. In the past, Present!Cordy and Present!Angel break into Giles' apartment to find the spell book. They resolve to go to Vegas to find Kate.  
  
  
~~ Angel's mansion, November 20, 1998 ~~  
  
It was a very broody vampire that entered his abode in the early dark hours of the morning. Angel thought over the previous night's events as he dropped a duffel bag with the name 'Cordelia Chase' embroidered on the side beside his bed. Absentmindedly, he gently placed his Seer's softly scented red camisole onto his bed. He smiled fondly, as he remembered her vehement warning not to scrunch it into her bag or crinkle it. For a moment, he let the very familiar smell of lavender, roses and a uniquely Cordelia Chase scent whirl around his senses. Closing his eyes, he remembered the look on her face when he had come up close to her. The feel of her skin against his when he held her hand. And the unmistakeable sharp pain when she slipped from his grasp.  
  
'What kind of dangerous game have I started?'  
  
That evening, he had embarked on a path that he had never taken before. He was moving away from the easy comfort he felt whenever he was with Cordy and the light flirting. Originally, it had started as a fun joke. A simple reminder that he was a vampire and could and would live up to the legend of great romancers. After all, he could still make any girl, even just a friend, weak in her knees. Only after he'd succeeded, and he smirked, knowing that he had, he remembered that there was a line he shouldn't be toeing. The line was kept in place for a reason. First and foremost, she was just a friend, and considering that he didn't have many, much less female friends, he would be hardpressed to give her up. Besides, for the first time in his life, he didn't feel utterly alone. Secondly, he had a soul to keep in place. More and more he found that just being friends with her, taking simple pleasure out of being in her company, was becoming a potential liability. There were so many times that he would hug her out of sheer joy and happiness, and then pull back in fear that his soul would lose its anchor.  
  
But most of all, he wanted her to understand that he would be there to comfort her when she needed it, as she was always there for him. Confiding to him about her weekend alone was one of the rare times that she ever let him see herself vulnerable and hurt. Looking back at their three years together, he suddenly realized that she never let down her guard. She bullied him until his walls fell down but kept hers firmly in place.  
  
Except when she had pain-splitting visions.  
  
Why was it so difficult for her to rely on other people, he mused. To let them in and comfort her? It wasn't as if she was distant. If anything, she was the most overly affectionate and fiercely loyal person he had ever encountered. The woman simply had no fear when it came to displaying her emotions. She made every like and dislike, and joy and sorrow apparent to the world and beyond. Yet, why was it that each time he got closer to her and became more dependent on her, more expectant that she would simply be in his life, she became less willing to depend on him? Hadn't he demonstrated in the past that he could be trusted? Hadn't he proven to her that he would be there for her as she was for him? She was the most open and honest, and yet complicated and confusing woman he had ever met. And she had the power to hurt him like no other.  
  
It hurt, to be reeled in by her loud demands and caring soul, and then rejected over and over by the shield around her heart. It hurt a lot.  
  
Yet this was the same woman who had once let Xander Harris in. What was it about him that made women like Cordy and Buffy and Willow trust him? What was it that made his very best friend ever susceptible to getting hurt by him?  
  
Because she was hurt. It was only tonight that he realized how hurt she had been. How hurt she still was over Xander. And tonight, he had heard what she had only confided to Giles. He had heard her asking for a way to get him back.  
  
It was funny how he had never considered that she might still be in love with him. But she had been so enamored with him, try as she would to hide it. Just like he had been obsessed with everything Buffy, she had lived and breathed everything Xander.  
  
He could wring the weasel's neck for hurting her. For making her feel like she had to lock her deepest, darkest secrets within herself and away from everyone else.  
  
Xander Harris was wrong for her. That was the long and short of it. There was no way that he would ever be good enough for his Cordy. There was no way that any man would ever be good enough for her. But the man for her would have to die trying.  
  
Until that man appeared, he would take on the job.  
  
Angel headed towards his back exit to the sewers. He needed to find transportation to get to Vegas, and that meant hunting some demons who still owed him favours. In fact, the more he thought about his road trip with Cordelia, the more he was glad for the time he would be able to spend with her. As he sped through the dark tunnels underneath the streets, he thought of the recurrence of Cordy's painful visions, her new demon powers, and the way that she kept things from him. He didn't want to force her to tell him everything, but he didn't want to be shut out, like he had when the visions were killing her. No way was the terrifying incident on her birthday going to be repeated. The distance between them then seemed to stem from her unwillingness to share her unresolved problems with him.  
  
'Today when we go to Vegas,' he thought. 'This time around, you're going to tell me everything.'  
  
  
~~ The Hyperion, January 24, 2002 ~~  
  
In the office, Wesley and Willow were busy referencing their newfound information. Willow was reading the files that Cordelia had copied from Lilah's computer. There were a lot of files about the project and what Wolfram and Hart was doing, but she still had no idea what it really was or why Lilah and her cousin were involved.  
  
"Wesley, I need to ask you something." Willow said, as she finished scanning the files.  
  
"You know I shouldn't divulge anything more about Connor's parentage or why Angel didn't contact you or Buffy without his consent." Wesley replied automatically.  
  
Willow blinked, surprised. "Uh, actually, I was wondering if the book you're reading mentions these Stones of Egrassa. Because, I've been looking on the Internet for them but the reference material is pretty sparse."  
  
Wesley immediately gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I thought you were still curious --." Wearily, the ex-Watcher took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ''I guess this has been a very long two days." Willow smiled sympathetically as he sighed. "I guess I'm also not the leader that I wished to be."  
  
Willow wrinkled her forehead. "No," she protested. "You're doing great so far."  
  
Wesley let out a dejected breath, "Please don't try to make me feel better. I have to face the truth when it stares blankly at me."  
  
"I don't know why you think that. No one has questioned your authority." Willow said.  
  
"But I have." Wesley said softly. "I am now."  
  
"Everyone has doubts. We'll find a solution." Willow said, trying to make him feel better.  
  
"Yes, but it should have been found already. Angel and Cordy should be here, their real consciousness here, right now. Instead, they're stuck reliving the past and potentially changing history as we know it." Wesley stared straight ahead of him, seemingly not seeing anything.  
  
"You can't beat yourself up over this. We don't even know what caused Kate to switch consciousness. And obviously, this Wolfram and Hart law firm has been playing with some dark forces. You can't fight something that you don't know anything about." Willow felt helpless, watching the frown deepen on Wesley's face.  
  
"Yes, I guess we've established that I'm not that useful, haven't we."  
  
"No," she exclaimed. "You can't think that." Inwardly, she wondered why such an obviously smart man was being so hard on himself. "Thinking this way won't bring them back any faster."  
  
"Perhaps not," he replied. "But it is a good motivator."  
  
Willow stared at him, not knowing how to ease Wesley's depression. 'He's so discontented with his life that it's crippling him,' she thought. 'But what else can I say?' As she pondered what to say next, the door of the Hyperion opened. Upon hearing it, Wesley got up and headed out to the lobby. Willow immediately followed. Standing in the middle were the four that had broken into the law firm, and a fifth, unknown person.  
  
Gunn opened his mouth to speak, but Cordelia beat him to it. "Hey guys," she said enthusiastically to them. "Guess who's got a story to tell."  
  
"Lindsey McDonald." Wesley said to the stranger, his voice turning cold and distrusting. "I should have known you'd have something to do with this."  
  
Willow watched as Angel noticed Wesley's reaction to him and grabbed the man by his collar, pushing him against the wall.  
  
"You said you've got something to say." the vampire said menacingly, "Now say it."  
  
The blond man, Lindsey, didn't seem fazed. "Always was an impatient one."  
  
Cordelia's voice rang out, "Are you back to being all cave man again?" As Angel let Lindsey go, Cordelia came up to touch the shorter man's arm. "Are you alright? Can I get you anything?"  
  
"Whoa, looks like someone's got a little crush." a voice from the back called out. Lorne slithered to Angel, who had hung back to fade into the shadows. "What is it with you two men fighting over the same women?"  
  
Willow couldn't believe her ears. Cordelia and Angel? That was impossible. Apparently, Cordelia thought so as well.  
  
"What?" Cordelia demanded in shock. "That's just -- wrong."  
  
"Actually," Fred jumped in shyly, as Gunn opened his eyes wide and started making wide gestures with his hands. "It's kyerumption. The champion-ness in you two make you fated for each other." Gunn grimaced, as if bracing for an explosive reaction.  
  
Angel looked away in disgust as Cordelia made a noise displaying her denial. "Since when did he become a champion?" she demanded. "And when did my fate end up in the same sentence as his?"  
  
Willow watched the new guy, Lindsey, snicker in utter amusement. 'I think I'm missing the humour in this!' she thought.  
  
Wesley cleared his throat. "Might I remind everyone that we've still got a very troublesome case to solve? Unless," he said, turning to Cordelia and Angel, "you plan on staying stuck this way forever." At his statement, everyone fell quiet.  
  
Lindsey stepped forward. "Well then," he said, grinning, "guess you're finally ready for my story."  
  
  
~~ Sunnydale High, November 20, 1998 ~~  
  
"So, you finally going to tell me where you're going?" Xander asked Cordy as he fluttered around her locker.  
  
Cordy sighed as she got her books out. "San Francisco. Harmony's cousin invited us out there."  
  
"Why can't you stay here?" Xander asked, giving her his best weepy look. Cordy tried hard not to smile at it.  
  
"And stay in this hell hole?" she asked him incredulously.  
  
"Yeah, but I"m in it," he grinned.  
  
Cordy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help breaking down and smiling at him. "It's only a weekend."  
  
"Well, what am I going to do while you're away? Who's going to cure my loneliness while you're gone?"  
  
"Maybe you can call Willow." she spit out, before she could stop herself.  
  
"W-what?" Xander asked her nervously.  
  
Cordy closed her eyes for a minute. "Don't you guys still have to work out that spell to de-rat Amy?"  
  
"De-rat Amy?" Xander stared.  
  
'Amy became a rat after we broke up.' Cordelia realized to herself suddenly. Aloud she put on her best no-nonsense voice. "Expression," she said dismissively. "Aren't you guys supposed to help Buffy go patrolling this weekend? Since Faith said she wouldn't be around?"  
  
"Oh, yeah." Xander laughed a little shakily. He rubbed his palms on his shirt, as if they had suddenly gotten clammy. "Didn't think of that."  
  
"Well, what did you think I meant?" she asked. Her mind started to scream at herself. What point was she trying to make with this?  
  
"Hi Cordelia." a fake cheerful voice said behind her. Cordy whirled around to see Harmony pasting her toothy grin towards her.  
  
"Harmony." Xander acknowledged the blonde girl. Harmony ignored him.  
  
"Something's come up. I won't be able to drive down with you." the blonde girl said.  
  
"That's okay." Cordy said quickly. When a surprised look passed over Harmony's face, she quickly added, "Well, I can't believe you're making me go down alone."  
  
"Well, I can't do anything about it. Daddy said I simply have to have dinner with him tonight," she simpered. "His lawyer's serving Mother the divorce papers and he wants to show her that he's winning everything. Besides, he's the one with all the money in the family."  
  
"And aren't you a wholesome family." Xander quipped. Inwardly, Cordy cringed.  
  
"You better make it down." Cordy snapped. Even she was startled by her own reaction. 'Better tone it down,' she thought. I don't want her to think she has to come with me after all.'  
  
"Oh, sure." Harmony said in her sugary voice. Her usual ding-dong expression surfaced as she suddenly started walking away. "Toodles!"  
  
"Talk about clueless." Xander remarked, staring after her retreating figure. "Aren't you glad that you don't have problems like hers?"  
  
'That's right.' Cordy thought sadly. 'Because mine are so much better.'  
  
  
~~ The Hyperion, January 24, 2002 ~~  
  
Lindsey had always wanted to know what it would be like to be part of Angel's little gang. When he had first realized what working for Wolfram & Hart was really like, he had secretly wondered whether Angel Investigations was any different. Looking at the way everyone interacted with each other during their confrontations, it seemed like they all really did care for one another. Last night, he had gotten the real scoop.  
  
'So let me get this straight,' Charles Gunn said, a confused look on his face. 'Two years ago, Wolfram & Hart found this bad dude's stones? And these stones make it easier for people to switch minds with themselves?'  
  
Lindsey smiled. Gunn seemed to be the everyday man of the group. "Actually, it's not easier, it's to determine the exact time with which they switched their minds. That's based on the planetary alignment in place when they were activated." As Gunn stared at him blankly, he explained further. "Because of the way the planets lined up, people switched minds with their past selves from exactly 3 years, 2 months, and 4 days ago."  
  
"But only if they say the spell." Wesley supplied. "They can't switch without saying the spell."  
  
"Then hopefully we don't have to worry about too many confused people walking around." Willow told the group. "We can focus on stopping Wolfram & Hart from continuing this."  
  
"What I want to know is why?" Gunn asked. "What's the point for them doing all this?"  
  
Lindsey shrugged. "Power? Because they can? I've given up trying to figure out why Wolfram & Hart does the things it does." He stared past the double doors onto the street. "The possibilities of how this could go wrong... I petitioned to shut down the project permanently, years ago, with Gerald Morgan, Lilah's cousin. I thought we were successful... but I should have remembered how obsessed Lilah was with the project. She fought tooth and nail to get it reinstated before I left. She was even ready to drag her own cousin through the mud just to get the project running again." The lawyer hung his head. "He was a good guy. He didn't deserve to die the way he did. I should have known he would get hurt... I never should have gotten him involved with all this again."  
  
Cordelia reached out and rubbed his arm. Lindsey looked at her, surprised. She never seemed to be the type to comfort others.  
  
"So, bottom line, how do we fix this?" Angel asked in a low voice. He crossed his arms, squinting at the two.  
  
"We've got to find a way to destroy the stones. They're the key in all this." Lindsey replied, giving a sideways glance at the vampire, noticing that the vampire remained partially shrouded in shadow most of the time. It was strange; he was so used to seeing Angel at the head of the group.  
  
"We can't just break them by conventional means." Wesley put in. "If these stones were created by a witch, they'll have magical properties preventing their easy destruction. We haven't found a spell to destroy them yet."  
  
"There is a spell to make the stones more brittle." Willow offered, flipping the pages of one of Wesley's books. "They might be easier to smash then."  
  
"So, once the stones are gone, what happens?" Gunn asked.  
  
"Hopefully we're back to normal." Angel told him.  
  
"This is scary." Fred remarked softly. When she shivered slightly, Wesley made a move towards her, but Gunn got there first. The tall dark vampire hunter placed his arm around her.  
  
"Hey, we're gonna get through this, like we always do," Gunn assured the former physics student. "Right, guys?" No one said anything.  
  
"Of course we are." Cordelia said firmly, making her way to the front to face the group. She gave everyone a fierce glare as if to dare them to say differently. Turning to Wesley, she asked him, "So, what's our plan?"  
  
  
~~ Sunnydale High, November 20, 1998 ~~  
  
"Hey Will, wait up." Xander called out to the redhead as she closed her locker.  
  
"Oh, hi Xander." she said nervously. For a minute, she fidgeted with her hands and then finally hid them behind her back.  
  
"Any plans for the weekend?" Xander asked casually.  
  
Willow hesitated for a moment. "Actually, not really. Oz is going out of town with his band. He's got a gig in L.A!"  
  
"That's great for him!" Xander replied, a little too enthusiastically.   
  
Willow nodded excitedly. "I figure, I can use the extra time to prepare for my SAT scores."  
  
"Uh, Willow, you do remember that we took them already, right?" Xander panned.  
  
"I know," she responded. "But the scores come out next week and, well, I need some time to prepare for it."  
  
"Then, you're in luck!" Xander exclaimed. He placed an arm around her. "Cordy's out of town too and you're in need of some major distraction. I'm your man."  
  
The red-haired witch in training gave him a funny look. "You're always my man, Xander. I mean, for major distractions. I mean --" she trailed off.  
  
For a minute, Xander and Willow stared at each other. Her arm had snaked around front to hold the hand that wasn't around her shoulders. Not realizing it, she was rubbing it gently.  
  
Then suddenly, the magic was gone. They jumped away from each other, as if they had both received an electric shock.  
  
"Actually, I need time to prepare alone. And I need to spend some quality time with my books this weekend." Willow threw out, backing away.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Xander agreed in a strained voice.  
  
"Maybe Buffy..." Willow suggested.  
  
"Maybe Buffy..." Xander nodded.  
  
Both of them turned away that instant, not knowing how to react. Then, they turned back to face each other.  
  
"Xander, what are we doing?" Willow whispered.  
  
"I can't help it," Xander said, shaking his head. "It's just that... you're my best friend."  
  
Willow's eyes melted at the words. "Xander, you're my best friend too."  
  
For another long minute, they gazed at each other, giving each other shy smiles. The world around them faded.  
  
From behind her locker, Harmony peeked at the two losers she would never in a million years associate with. A wicked smile passed over her face as she contemplated the perfect opportunity that fate had tossed her way. 'Awww, poor Cordelia,' she thought. 'Looks like I'm going to have to make your life miserable in San Francisco.'  
  
  
  
~~ The Hyperion, January 24, 2002 ~~  
  
Wesley took in a deep breath as he gazed blearily at the book in front of him. He was trying to find out more about the stones that they would have to destroy, but was having difficulty focusing. He hadn't gotten much sleep over the last two days and although he was used to it, it was starting to take a toll on his concentration.  
  
"We've booked the plane tickets online." Willow announced as she entered his office, holding several printed out electronic tickets. Looking at the worried expression on his face, she asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm concerned about what happens after we destroy the stones." Wesley admitted. "We can't be certain that everything will suddenly return back to normal after they've been destroyed."  
  
"You mean our Angel and Cordy could be stuck in 1998?" Willow said, sinking into the seat in front of the desk. "If we destroy the stones, we can't even use the spell to try to get them back."  
  
"Unfortunately, we can't get the spell to work anymore. Angel tried switching back before and nothing happened."  
  
"Maybe they need to do it in 1998." Willow suggested. "Maybe it has to be the consciousness that said the spell originally that will make it work."  
  
"If that's the case, then we need to wait until they've switched back before destroying the stones." Wesley exhaled slowly. "But we have no way of telling them that."  
  
"How long can we wait?" Willow reasoned. "If we don't destroy the stones as soon as possible, Wolfram & Hart can keep using them for their own nefarious purposes, whatever they are."  
  
"And if we do destroy them, then Angel and Cordelia will remain switched forever. That could potentially ruin our timeline."  
  
"Well, we're not seeing any changes, right?"  
  
"No." Wesley answered. Then grimly, he said, "But will we know if there are any? Our memories could be changing without us realizing it."  
  
"Oh." Willow said, shocked. "I hadn't considered that."  
  
Wesley stared out the doorway into the lobby. He made a decision. "We can't wait for the possibilities," he said firmly. "Our primary concern should be to stop Wolfram & Hart first. Angel would agree if he were here." He reached for the electronic tickets that Willow was still holding and headed to the lobby. "May I have everyone's attention please?" he called out. "I'm ready to assign the teams and distribute your plane tickets."  
  
  
~~ Angel's mansion, November 20, 1998 ~~  
  
In the late afternoon, Angel got a surprise visitor.  
  
"Hello? Anyone home?" a blonde head poked into the large mansion in the cemetary.  
  
"Buffy." It was strange how one word could convey so many different emotions. Passion. Tenderness. Trust. Sorrow. Heartache.  
  
"I came to... talk." the beautiful slayer that had been his most prevalent thought each day for three years said to him.  
  
"To talk," he repeated. He remembered all those times when they were alone in his mansion, learning new things about each other and he knew better. Swallowing hard, he leaned against his fireplace, keeping his distance from her.  
  
She looked at him in consternation, as if confused at his distance from her. "I'm worried. About Faith."  
  
Angel let out a pent-up breath that he hadn't known he was holding. "Has she been on your case about us?"  
  
Buffy shook her head. "No, it's not that. I need to assure her that I'm on the same side as her."  
  
"There's a rift between you two." Angel said carefully. "It's because of us, isn't it?"  
  
Buffy looked down. "Yeah, I guess so." She looked to the side. "She just doesn't understand. She hasn't been with me from day one."  
  
'Xander doesn't understand,' Angel thought. 'and he has been with you from day one.' Aloud, he said, "Give her time. Having so many Watchers die or turn evil on her must be rough."  
  
"Right." Buffy said. She shuffled her feet nervously. "I miss you," she finally said.  
  
Angel stared at her in surprise. This didn't happen before. It was always implied, but she never just straight out told him that. "I miss you too," he admitted.  
  
"Each day, it's so hard staying away from you. Pretending that we're just friends." Buffy confessed, tears welling up in her eyes. Miraculously, they didn't fall. "I tell myself that's it for the best, but I can't fool myself."  
  
Angel was torn. "We have to," he told her softly, moving closer to her. "There's no choice."  
  
Suddenly, she threw herself into his arms. "There's got to be another way. Some way to be together."  
  
It had been a while since he had held her. He wrapped his arms around her, surprised at how much smaller she felt in his arms than he remembered. "There isn't any."  
  
Buffy was adament. "No, Ms. Calendar was trying to find it. She was on the right track." A sob racked her body as she clung to him. "She was so sure of it."  
  
Angel was pained. "And I killed her."  
  
"It wasn't you," Buffy whispered. She gazed up into his eyes and put a hand on his face.  
  
Big green eyes rested soulfully on his brown ones and he was entranced. It had been too long since he had felt this way. "I won't be like that ever again."  
  
He couldn't say how it happened. One minute, they were staring into each other's eyes, and the next, his mouth was on hers. Or maybe, it was her lips on his. Regardless, it was familiar and nice, and oh so sweet. It was like a wonderful trip down a long-forgotten dream and he started to remember the lusciousness of her lips, the sweet taste of her tongue, and the smoothness of her perfect skin. Any second, he expected the thunder that would start roaring in his ears and the drums that would beat in his heart.  
  
Only this time there was no thunder and the drums seemed to have quieted down a lot.  
  
Confused, he deepened the kiss and growled. The tiny slayer responded enthusiastically and tightened her hold around him. She raised a hand to softly brush it through his short hair. It was at that moment that he caught a whiff of lavendar and roses coming from the direction of his bedroom.  
  
He suddenly stepped away and held back a gasp. He shook his head; he didn't need to breathe.  
  
His gaze fell on the red camisole that was peeking from the edge of his bed. Panicking he looked into the large, pained eyes of the blonde vampire slayer.  
  
"I can't," he said desperately, trying not to draw attention to his bedroom.  
  
Her eyes were downcast. "I understand." She started backing away towards the door. "I shouldn't have come here. We should just be --"  
  
"Friends," he cut in. Then, almost to himself, he echoed, "We're friends."  
  
"Right," Buffy agreed sadly. "I shouldn't be here," she said, as if telling herself that. "I should probably go."  
  
Preoccupied with the red camisole, he shifted on his feet, as if to mentally hustle her out. "That's probably best," he said distractedly.  
  
Buffy paused at the door. "Angel," she said as she was leaving. "Are we alright?"  
  
He looked away for a minute before answering her. "Yeah," he said, not quite realizing that a change had begun between them. "We will be."  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~  
  
Disclaimers: Angel and Co. aren't mine.  
A/N: Well, so now that secret's out. Mystery man is Lindsey... and to all his fans out there, I guarantee that he's getting some action/adventure in this story! Also, I've been trying very very hard not make Buffy entirely cry-Buffy or bitchy-Buffy. I respect B/A and love the story arc behind it, but I'm not dwelling on it and I want to deal with Angel trying to come to terms with his life now, his growing attachment and feelings for Cordy, what it means when it comes to his eternal love affair with Buffy, as well as the issues that the show seems to introduce but never resolve! It's not my intention to force any particular relationship out of this but to write something believable and in line with the direction of the characters on Angel. And of course to throw in a few crises to solve and a little fun to boot. So, having said that, relationships and friendships that don't normally crop up have already been forming and others will be developing in the next few chapters. It might cause controversy, but please keep in mind that I'm exploring possibilities and let me know if something is downright unbelievable. Thanks! 


	13. Around the World

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for everyone who has read this story. And ten thousand times thank you for those who read my story more than once (I'm looking towards Stephanie, aka ILETUDRIVE :). That is such a wonderful thing to find out. Also, about wondering where the consciousness exists? I've planned that for future chapters already so please keep reading to find out which Cordelia gets her visions and demon powers.   
  
All disclaimers apply from before.  
  
Want to do me the honour of posting this story? Please ask hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com for permission first. Thx.  
  
Chapter 13: Around the world  
By Hollywood Phoenix  
(c) June 1, 2002  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~  
  
~~ Wolfram & Hart, January 24, 2002 ~~  
  
Lilah stalked around her immaculate office in her equally immaculate heels and perfectly pressed suit. An irritated look passed over her face as she took in the broken door lock, the papers strewn on the floor, and the computer that was still on.  
  
"Well well well," a smooth voice broke in. "Looks like someone's got some cleaning up to do."  
  
"Get out, Gavin." she snarled without turning around. "I'm busy."  
  
"Yes, I can see that," was the Asian-American man's wry answer. "Careful, Ms. Morgan, you're losing your hand. Perhaps like your predecessor." he said meaningfully.  
  
"He wasn't my predecessor. Besides, I'll never be like him. He's a loser who walked away from the dream." she said fiercely.  
  
"Yes, but you're not still living it, are you?" Gavin gloated.  
  
Lilah pursed her lips and feigned indifference, "Are you still here?"  
  
"I wouldn't be so quick to turn my back if I were you. I've received some new information that I'm sure you'll be interested in." Gavin said, holding up a file folder.  
  
Lilah stalked up to him and made a grab for the folder. Quickly, Gavin sidestepped her and the folder slipped from her grasp.  
  
"Uh uh, not yet. I'm enjoying this. Might as well prolong it, as it might be the last chance for quite a while." Gavin teased.  
  
Lilah gave him an impatient glare. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Gavin smirked. "It looks like someone, or should I say a few someones are looking for certain stones... relating to your pet project."  
  
"Lindsey? Who else?" Lilah asked, successfully grabbing the folder out of Gavin's hands.  
  
"I'll give you one guess. Your friendly, neighbourhood..."  
  
"Angel Investigations." Lilah finished, reading the airline reservation records.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your office while you're gone." Gavin whispered, as he triumphantly sailed out of her office.  
  
Lilah stared after him, and then back at the list of destinations in front of her. She picked up her phone and spoke curtly into it, "I need to book a flight immediately."  
  
  
~~ En-route to Las Vegas, November 20, 1998 ~~  
  
As soon as the sun set, Cordy made her way to Angel's mansion.  
  
"You know, I've never actually seen where you lived before." she said, rotating on one heel, staring at the place.  
  
Angel shot her a look, having never realized it before. "Strange how we didn't really know each other before L.A." he started slowly.  
  
"It just goes to show you how wrong first impressions are." Cordy said, with a slightly affected air of maturity. Angel unsuccessfully struggled with the smile creeping on his face.  
  
"As I recall, you had quite a first impression of me. What was it you called me? Salty goodness?" Angel quipped.  
  
Cordy's mind whirled. 'I can't believe you remembered,' she thought. 'Well, as if I would admit to it now!' Aloud, she scoffed to him, "Clearly your vampire memory isn't quite like your hearing."  
  
"I'm not going to hold you to it." Angel simply replied knowingly.  
  
She started turning red, something she couldn't ever remember doing, at least not since she started high school. "That's because there's nothing to hold to me!" she declared as she shot him a glare.  
  
"So, should we get going?" Angel asked casually, realizing that he should switch topic right away. He was still hoping to broach her problems with the visions. Cordy nodded and he held the door open for her.  
  
"No lock?" she asked, when he simply closed it and walked away.  
  
Angel smirked, "It's not like anyone's really dying to break in here."  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe someone with a vampire wardrobe fetish would want to." she said coyly, referring to his black leather pants and sweater. Angel groaned.  
  
"Here we go," he said under his breath, but he was smiling. "Dressing me in colours and clothes you like. You know you're like Pygmalion?"  
  
"Pig who?" Cordy wrinkled her nose.  
  
"Pygmalion," Angel informed her, "was this man who created this woman and molded her to fit his idea of the ideal woman." He peered at her to see her reaction.  
  
She had none. "You're hardly my idea of ideal." She huffed. "And I'm not Pyg-whatever-his-name-is. You dress yourself perfectly fine. I only suggest colours." She poked at him. "I know you were literally one with the living dead before I came on the scene, but would it hurt to wear something cheerier like a muted gray or baby blue?" she wheedled.  
  
"Baby blue?" Angel repeated in amusement.   
  
"I think they'll go with your --" Cordy paused, looking for the right word. "--eyes..." she finished lamely.  
  
"They happen to be brown." he said, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Six years you've known me and my salty goodness..."  
  
"I know what colour your eyes are." Cordy sniffed, then fell silent.  
  
Angel sighed quietly, sensing that he should quit while he was behind and likely not able to dig himself out of the hole he was miraculously digging himself in again. As they approached their mode of transportation, Cordy suddenly squealed.  
  
"What is it with you and classic cars? And black ones at that?" she asked, running a hand smoothly over the exterior of the black hood.  
  
"I always wanted to drive a black Cadillac," Angel shrugged cautiously. He peered at her, but her recent anger seemed to have dissipated.  
  
At least for the moment.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing?" she suddenly demanded. He froze, his hand on the car door, his right leg sliding into the driver's side.  
  
"Did you want me to open your door for you?" he said, slightly panicked and very puzzled.  
  
She pursed her lips and held out her hand. "Hand it over."  
  
"No way." Angel shook his head again. But he had already come around and handed her the car keys.  
  
Cordy giggled at the pout on his face as she settled in on the left hand side. "If you weren't such a major control freak all the time and let me behind the wheel every so often when we're back home..." Angel leaped over the car door and gracefully landed on the passenger seat. Cordy raised her eyebrows at the very obvious display on his part but inwardly suppressed an adoring grin playing on her lips. She started the car.  
  
"That's only because I know how you drive --" he started to answer. The rest of his sentence fell away as the car tires squealed loudly when Cordy took off.  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about." she replied viciously.  
  
As they sped past several cars and honking horns, Angel gripped the passenger door handle. Angel decided that it might be best to shut his mouth for the rest of the drive and let Cordy have her fun for a while. After all, the conversation about the visions could wait.  
  
  
~~ The L.A. Airport, January 24, 2002 ~~  
  
"What happened to travelling light?" Gunn groaned as he hefted one of Cordelia's suitcases from the cart onto the check-in belt.  
  
Lindsey grinned sideways at Cordelia as he moved another of Cordelia's suitcases. Angel silently and effortlessly took care of the last of her suitcases. Upset with Gunn's complaint, Cordelia crossed her arms.  
  
"Well, it's not like I get to go to a tropical island." Cordelia grumbled. "I wouldn't be bringing half as much then." Before Gunn could respond, she started complaining, "I don't see why I have to be stuck with 'Mr. No Fun' here."  
  
Wesley held in his sigh, "The teams were divided logically..."  
  
"And why couldn't I be going where he's going?" Cordy demanded, pointing at Lindsey. Fred gasped in wide-eyed astonishment.  
  
"And there's an extremely valid reason for where you're going and with whom." Wesley continued, this time not bothering to hold back the sigh.  
  
Sensing that Wesley was reaching breaking point, Willow took the opportunity to jump in. "I've also taken the opportunity to whip something up for everyone." She started handing out necklaces to everyone. "You need to put this on."  
  
"You serious, red? What is it?" Gunn asked, fighting back a laugh. Holding it up, everyone could clearly see the tiny rock dangling on a slim piece of brown suede leather.  
  
"It's a charm." Willow explained. "Wesley mentioned that the timeline in 1998 might change but we won't realize it. This will act as a ground. As long as you wear it, you'll remember this timeline."  
  
"Wonderful." Wesley said to her, admiringly. For the first time in a long while, Willow blushed at the compliment, her face turning as red as her roots.  
  
"What happens if we don't wear it?" Lindsey asked quietly.  
  
"Best case, nothing. Worst case, the timeline changes so much that you won't remember what you're supposed to do. You won't remember anything about the stones and you might not even remember us." Willow replied somberly. "It's really important that you keep it on."  
  
"Now, you've all got the spell that will make the stone brittle. The best thing to do is smash the stone. Once broken, it will become inactive." Wesley instructed.  
  
"So, first person who breaks a stone calls everyone else? Then the rest of us goes home? So why do we all have to go somewhere?" Gunn asked. Fred poked him.  
  
"Haven't you ever wanted to see snow?" she asked him excitedly.  
  
"Yeah, but not when it's going to be 20 below." Gunn said, shaking his head but unable to keep away a lopsided grin.  
  
"I'm afraid you're mistaken." Wesley interrupted. He glanced around at everyone else to make sure they were all listening. "First of all, one broken stone is not going to end this. The stones were each activated in a place that was strategically calculated to make that park on Baker Street the portal. They act as a ring, concentrating all the energies onto that park."  
  
"Huh?" Cordelia asked in confusion.  
  
"Bottom line is that everyone has to find their stone and destroy it. Otherwise, others could end up like you, and we won't be able to get you two back to your proper time period." Wesley concluded.  
  
"Fair enough." Gunn said.  
  
"And what's the second thing?" Angel asked, watching Wesley carefully.  
  
"We won't be able to communicate via cell phone." Wesley said, wincing to brace himself for the reaction.  
  
"What?" Cordelia demanded, widening her eyes. Gunn made a noise of frustration. Fred held onto her arms, her forehead etched in worry and Lindsey raised a questioning eyebrow.  
  
"Why?" Willow asked.  
  
"Where we, and Fred and Gunn will be, there'll be no telecommunication signals. We'll carry a cell phone, but they'll likely not work for us." Wesley told her. "Also, we cannot be certain that they will work elsewhere if the timeline changes."  
  
"But our charms." Cordelia protested.  
  
"Will only keep you grounded." Wesley cut in. Thoughtfully, he added, "Although you and Angel might not need to wear them. Technically, you shouldn't carry memories of the last three years, thus you shouldn't be affected."  
  
"So, even though my cell phone goes international, you're telling me that I won't be able to call you guys." Lindsay said slowly.  
  
"This is getting really complicated." Willow said with worry.  
  
"Not for me. Never did get used to those things." Angel muttered. Being the only one who heard him, Cordelia glared at him.  
  
"Now, as you well know, we're relying on the files to help us locate the stones. You've each seen the pictures for your respective stones, so you'll be able to identify them. Willow and I will also be meeting Lorne's contact in South America. Apparently, this demon has worked with Almorra, the witch that created the Stones of Egrassa." Wesley continued. "We need to verify some things, just to make sure that we've covered all bases, especially with regards to restoring the timeline. Fred and Gunn, you're on your own, but rest assured, they do speak English where you're going." Turning to the blond man leaning casually against the check-in counter, he said, "Lindsey, I know you've been there before, but I would suggest that you find a guide since you're working alone."  
  
"Don't worry about me." Lindsey replied confidently. "I'll be able to make my way around that part of the world easily."  
  
"Angel, you should have no problems orienting yourself around the city. If you can, you and Cordelia should find Giles. He'll be an invaluable resource in case we need him." Wesley paused and looked at the faces staring back at him. "Good luck," he said softly. "Let's board our planes."  
  
  
~~ Las Vegas, November 21, 1998 ~~  
  
"What do you mean, she's not here?" Cordy demanded.  
  
"Look, miss, Detective Lockley caught the guy this morning and booked outta here a few hours later," the police sargeant behind the counter said apologetically, rubbing his forehead tiredly.  
  
"But we drove all the way out here because you guys said she'd be here for the next week." Cordelia continued irately.  
  
"Cordy," Angel said, reaching for her hand.  
  
"Let me handle this." she said, swatting his arm aside.  
  
"You could have talked to her over the phone," the policeman pointed out.  
  
"This is private and confidential business." Cordelia glared. "Not something we could just talk about over the phone."  
  
"Miss, you could leave your name and number. We'll make sure she gets any messages --"  
  
"And sit around the phone for a week waiting for her to call back? I don't think so. Is she headed back to L.A?"  
  
The heavy-set man in uniform winced. "No. She said something about taking a week off. She's been really anxious to go somewhere, but didn't want to leave in the middle of the case." He put his hand up, as if to ward off a potential attack.  
  
"Cordy." Angel repeated more urgently, reaching out again. This time, he caught her hand and held it.  
  
She glanced down at their clasped hands for a moment, then looked deliberately back at the policeman. The policeman flinched.  
  
"Thank you for your time." she said softly. The policeman looked surprised and relaxed noticeably.  
  
"I'm so glad we didn't get stopped by a cop on the way here." Angel commented, as they exited the police station. Inwardly he was ready to kick himself. He kept opening his mouth and inserting his foot in, repeatedly. He didn't understand what was wrong with him because he'd never had that problem before. Closing his mouth, he looked down the street for something to focus his attention on.  
  
"And I can't believe you're being such a baby about this." Cordy sniped back, as they made their way to the car. "We got here well before dawn, didn't we? That assured us several hours to hunt down Kate. At least, until she went AWOL." she added. She paused when she realized that Angel wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.  
  
"It's almost surreal, thinking that this place ever sees daylight." Angel remarked as he gazed at the mass of bright lights blotting each side of the street.  
  
"I'm surprised you don't live here instead." Cordy said, unable to hold back a grin. She stopped to stare at a garishly dressed man walking past, with a woman in a fur coat hanging on each arm. "On second thought..." She shook her head and turned to her travelling companion. "What do we do now? Kate's nowhere to be found."  
  
"I guess we head back." Angel suggested glumly. "We can't drive around the world looking for her." He shook his head. "I can't believe this trip was such a waste."  
  
"Tired of my company?" Cordy asked, a suspiciously upset tone in her voice.  
  
"Of course not." he assured her, reaching over to squeeze her hand. She smiled faintly for a moment, then slipped her hand out of his.  
  
Angel's eyes closed quickly, as he turned away. Cordy tilted her head, seeing a quick look flash across his face. 'What was that for?' she thought pensively. Before she could analyze it further, he had turned his head back with a smile and held out his hand. "My turn to drive."  
  
Cordy's mouth twitched as she instinctively backed away from the car, her hand behind her back. "And I thought you were brave," she teased. "I was hardly going 50."  
  
"Actually, you were going 80." he whispered in her ear, suddenly right behind her. She bumped into him, startled, and when she whirled around to face him, was dismayed to find the keys in his hand. "Don't be such a control freak." he winked, jiggling the keys in front of her.  
  
Cordy crossed her arms, not taking the bait. "Fine, fine." she pouted. "But only because I want to sleep."  
  
As they got into the car, Angel laughed, his features strangely relaxed. Cordy observed him carefully, realizing that he had laughed and joked more in the last few days than he had during his entire three years in Sunnydale. 'Unless he laughed in private with Buffy.' she thought. 'Somehow, I don't see them being all joyous in private when they couldn't even smile at each other in public.' She yawned, a tiredness unexpectedly overtaking her senses.  
  
Suddenly feeling chatty, Angel laughed again. "Did I ever tell you about that time I went on this road trip all the way from L.A. to New York? Of course, that was in my impetuous early two hundreds--" He stopped, suddenly feeling something lean against his shoulder. Glancing over at the young woman comfortably snuggling against him, he smiled softly. "Never mind," he told her as her eyelids drooped heavily. He reached around to the back seat and then covered her with her own red camisole. As he started the car, he delicately kissed the top of her head. "I can always tell you some other time."  
  
  
~~ The Yukon Territory, Canada, January 25, 2002 ~~  
  
"I don't care how long it takes to get back to civilization, I ain't goin' back on that thing." Gunn complained as he wobbled down the stairs from the tiny plane in the hangar.  
  
Fred smiled in sympathy at his slightly green face. "It's the size of the plane. The tiny wings of the plane don't provide as much resistence as the wind currents flow along them as larger ones and that's why there's more turbulence. And up north, the wind is stronger."  
  
"Whatever the reason, I'm walking, driving back." he announced, then stopped as he stared at the vast blanket of white covering the ground.  
  
"We could always use snowshoes." Fred suggested enthusiastically. She giggled as he made a frustrated face.  
  
"It's going to be hard enough to walk around in these things." he said, gesturing to the huge jackets and gloves they had donned. "I feel like the 'Stay-Puft Marshmallow' man."  
  
"I think they're darling." Fred said impishly. She held out her arms to each side and twirled around once in her snow white ski jacket as Gunn gazed at her surprisingly graceful-looking girlishness.  
  
"So, how do we get around this place?" Gunn said, clearing his throat.  
  
"There's a shuttle bus that comes by to take us to town." the pilot said, coming up behind them. "From there, it's your business how to get around. You can rent cars, snowmobiles."  
  
Fred's eyes went round as she heard the last word. "I've always wanted to ride a snowmobile!" she said excitedly.  
  
Gunn gave her a half-smile. "How about we finish our mission first before trying that." he said. Turning to the pilot, he asked, "So, when's this shuttle coming by?"  
  
"Probably another hour or so," the pilot answered. "We don't get that many folks up this way during this time of year."  
  
"Oh," Gunn replied. He felt the cold chill of the northern winds blowing across his face and resisted the urge to shiver. At least, not in public. "What do we do in the meantime?"  
  
"We play!" Fred's cheerful voice cut in behind him. He turned and was hit square in the face with something hard, wet and very cold. Shaking his head to clear his vision, he wiped his cheek and looked at his hand. Several little white snowflakes were rapidly melting against his glove. "What are you waiting for?" she giggled at him. Another white snowball hit him in the arm.  
  
"Nothing." he answered, grinning at her. He scooped up a gloveful of snow from the ground and threw it towards her. The snowflakes flew apart in the air.  
  
"You have to pack it together." she instructed. "Like this," Fred said as she neatly formed a snowball.  
  
"Prepare to be pulverized." Gunn smirked as he scooped up another gloveful and imitated her movements. He drew his hand back and threw his snowball at her. She ducked and giggled as it sailed harmlessly past her. Gunn stood standing in dismay. "Or not -- oof." he trailed off as another snowball quickly hit him in the chin.  
  
'Well, this is one way to pass the time.' he thought, as he tore after a rapidly fleeing Fred. He grinned as he successfully ducked his first snowball and caught up to her. As he tackled her to the soft ground, he laughed with her as he mused, 'And what a way it is.'  
  
  
~~ En-route to Sunnydale, November 21, 1998 ~~  
  
Cordelia was running down a dark alleyway.  
  
She could sense it. It was a vampire. She couldn't hear, smell, or see it, but she recognized its presence. She felt its pursuit, pushing her deeper into the dark chasms of shadows and night. Almost disembodied, she heard a pounding heart, the frantic footsteps echoing off the pavement, reverberating all around her.  
  
As she passed through unfamiliar, abandoned streets and backways, she felt the growing panic of a victim realizing her last moments alive, human. She turned a sharp corner and saw the fatal mistake. Ahead of her was a brick wall. An impenetrable barrier.  
  
The smell of fear run rancid in that last alleyway. Ragged gasps came out, a mixture of fear and desperation. She put up a fight, but it wasn't enough. As the vampire approached its victim, it smiled, baring its newly acquired fangs.  
  
Cordelia sneered as she sank her teeth into her victim. The warm gift of life ebbed slowly from her female prey, as it provided another few hours of sustenance for her.  
  
And that was when Cordy woke up with a gasp.  
  
The first thing that she became aware of was the strong shoulder her head was leaning on. The second was the wind that ruffled against her hair, causing it to flow backwards. The third thing should have been of the beautiful smile that rested peacefully on Angel's face.  
  
But she didn't notice that as she skittered across the shiny seat and smushed herself against the door in panic. Nor did she see the hurt that clearly delineated Angel's face.  
  
"Are you okay?" Angel asked, the pained look quickly replaced with one of concern as he took in her puffy eyes and the way she held her head.  
  
"I'm fine." Cordy said automatically, swallowing hard. She focused on staring at her knees, calming her rapidly beating heart. 'It's okay. I'm with Angel. I'm safe,' she thought. Slowly raising her head, she saw that Angel wasn't going to let this incident slide. "Maybe I'm a little not fine." she admitted shakily.  
  
"Okay, hang on." he said as he sailed off the next highway exit. Seeing a diner up ahead, he headed for its parking lot. Once parked, he jumped out of the car and supported her as he helped her into the diner.  
  
"You don't have to act like I'm going to break." she protested, but her legs were shaking like jelly.   
  
"I'm not." Angel told her soothingly. "Just helping you get in."  
  
"You know what, I don't need to go in. I don't want to." she said stumbling and holding her head. She didn't put up a fight when he scooped her up and gently placed her back onto the car seat.  
  
"Be right back.", he said to her, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. Briskly, he disappeared into the diner and half a minute later, appeared again and slid in next to her.  
  
"Thanks," she said, as he handed her a hot cup. Not knowing what it was, she took a sip and made a face when she tasted lemon tea. "No caffeine?" she asked hopefully, knowing what his answer would be before he shook his head. "I know, I know. This stuff is better for me."  
  
"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Angel asked her quietly, casually leaning his arm on the top of the seat behind her. Only, the piercing gold-flecked eyes watching her belied his tenseness.  
  
"Just fell asleep the wrong way..." Cordy said weakly, trying to think of a way to reply flippantly. The reply fell, unspoken, on her lips when she saw the look on his face.  
  
"Why won't you let me in?" Angel's eyes were dark. She expected him to growl or show some sort of frustration but his voice only sounded incredibly sad to her. He sat straight in his seat beside her, staring into the void ahead of him and leaving her to gaze at his profile.  
  
Something in her chest felt pain as they sat in silence.  
  
"They're hurting me again." she told him softly, so softly that he wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for his extra sensitive hearing. He waited patiently for her to continue. "They've been hurting since we fell asleep with Connor."  
  
"Your visions?"  
  
"They're not visions, exactly. They're dreams."  
  
Angel turned to face her again and grasped her hands tightly. "Do you think they're from the Powers That Be?" he asked in a low voice.  
  
"I don't know. I don't think so." Cordy responded. "I can't be sure, but they're not like predictions. The first one was just a bunch of images. This last one was a nightmare." She rubbed her temples in confusion and stared down at their hands, his wrapped so closely around hers that they seemed melded as one. If he was afraid that she would try pulling her hand away as usual, he shouldn't have been. She had no intention of doing that. If anything, she desperately wanted him to hold and comfort her.  
  
Only, she didn't tell him. Instead, she simply added, "Besides, I was so sure that the Powers wouldn't do that to me again."  
  
Angel leaned closer to her. "Maybe so," he said thoughtfully. "But, we should find out for sure."  
  
The thing that was hurting in Cordy's chest started sinking. "It's nothing," she insisted. "Let's just get out of here and go back to Sunnydale." She tugged at her hands to escape his strong hold. This time, they held fast.  
  
"No," he said determinedly. "We're making a detour first and getting to the bottom of this." Cordy looked into Angel's eyes and saw what he was thinking. "We're going to the Powers That Be."  
  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~  
  
A/N: As you can see, I have decided to take it around the world! I'm doing research because I haven't been to all the places I'll be writing about, but I'm also going to request help from you! If you're from an area that the characters are going to (for instance, the Yukon), I'd love some advice on describing each place. If not, I'm basing it on information from the Internet and watching Hollywood movies. :)   
  
Anyway, hope you guys are still enjoying it! 


	14. The Show Must Go On

All disclaimers apply from before.  
  
Chapter 14: The Show Must Go On  
By Hollywood Phoenix  
(c) June 16, 2002  
~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~  
  
~~ Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America, January 26, 2002 ~~  
  
San Telmo is widely hailed as the most picturesque part of Buenos Aires. After walking along the cobblestone streets and colonial buildings for twenty minutes, Willow had to agree.  
  
"How much farther is this place?" Willow asked her tall travelling companion.  
  
"About ten more minutes." Wesley replied, glancing over his shoulder at her. "You okay?"   
  
"I'm fine." Willow said automatically, sprinting up to catch up to him. "I'm just a little taken with this place."  
  
Wesley glanced at the array of quaint looking shops and boutiques, tango parlours and cafés. "It is quite nice. Too bad this can't be a leisurely excursion."  
  
"That's okay," Willow smiled, her arms swinging at her sides a bit. "Maybe next time." They walked in silence for the next little while.  
  
"Here we are." Wesley announced as they stopped in front of a tango parlour with the "Spica" scrawled in neon blue. They stepped in.  
  
Walking in, Wesley paused and smiled. "Looks like Caritas," he said softly.  
  
"Who?" Willow asked.  
  
"Lorne's old nightclub." Wesley explained. He laughed fondly. "Every time we asked Lorne something, he made us sing first. This place is the spitting image." He shook his head in amazement as he gestured to the clientele. "Same sort of crowd too. Except maybe the dance floor," he added, referring to the large square of hardwood flooring in the middle of the parlour.  
  
"Well I'm glad this place looks familiar." Willow inputted with a small smile as she took in the way Wesley's smile softened his normally grim looking face. "As long as we don't have to dance."  
  
Wesley laughed in agreement as he headed for the bartender.  
  
"What can I get you folks?" the bartender asked them as they approached.  
  
"Actually, it's information we're seeking." Wesley replied. "We're looking for Galron."  
  
The bartender smiled with delight. "Change room's that way," he said, pointing his thumb to his right. Willow gave him a confused look.  
  
"I'm afraid I don't understand." Wesley said.  
  
"Dance floor's right there. Costumes are in the back." the bartender said. Willow's stomach flew up into her throat all of a sudden.  
  
"Oh no," she groaned.  
  
The bartender smirked at her anxiousness, "Oh yes, sweetheart. You're not getting any answers until you put on a show for us."  
~~ Inside Caritas, L.A., November 22, 1998 ~~  
  
Cordy tapped her nails impatiently on the table. For the last fifteen minutes, Angel hadn't been there with her. When they had first arrived in Caritas to look for Lorne, Angel had grabbed a table and pulled a seat out for her. Without so much as an "I'll be right back," he had gone directly to the horned demon. He had been conversing with the green host for about ten minutes, occasionally glancing towards her sitting alone.  
  
Cordy had gotten bored of watching them from a distance and focused on a strangely human-looking demon setting up some speakers. Not bothering to hide a yawn, she turned back to the bar. Lorne was alone now. Angel had disappeared.  
  
Perturbed, Cordy went up to Lorne at the bar. "Where's Angel?" she asked.  
  
"Oh hello there peach-bunny. Are you talking about Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome? That vampire -- can't believe he got me to tell him what he needed to know without giving a show first." The host shook his head.  
  
In impatience, Cordy leaned forward. "Where is he?" she repeated.  
  
Lorne gave her an apologetic smile. "No need to get angry here. I was just getting to that." As she flicked her hair, he hurriedly continued. "Hun-bun jetted out of here through the back way." He waved towards the back door. "Said something about seeing the PTB." The green demon cackled, "Looks like I'll be keeping you company tonight." He paused when the brunette turned right around and ran out of the bar through the back entrance. "Was it something I said?" he called out after her.  
  
Cordy burst through the doors and to her left, saw Angel turning a dark corner. "Wait!" she called out to him.  
  
Angel looked behind him in slight dismay as she caught up to him.  
  
"Where are we headed?" she asked breathlessly.  
  
Angel shook his head. "I asked Lorne to watch over you."  
  
"A babysitter? I'm a little too old for that." Cordy crossed her arms.  
  
"Cordy, I hate leaving you here by yourself but I'll be back really soon."  
  
"Déja vù... we keep having this conversation. Why can't I come along?" Cordy demanded.  
  
"I don't want you to tire yourself out." Angel said gently, placing an arm around her. She shrugged it off.  
  
"Look at me. I'm all better now. Besides, I've got a few beefs to go over with them. I think we're past due for a face-to-face."  
  
Angel shook his head again, "You can't go to see the Powers That Be, Cordy. You're human."  
  
"No, I'm part demon." Cordy corrected him.  
  
"We don't know that you are right now. You weren't a demon three years ago." Angel reasoned.  
  
"What, you're going all elitist on me? Afraid of becoming obsolete?" Cordy shot at him.  
  
"What?" Angel was confused.  
  
Cordy gazed into his deep, dark eyes, troubled. "I saw you when you were with the Powers That Be on my birthday, trying to get them to take the visions back."  
  
Angel's eyes narrowed, becoming even darker. "I didn't realize you saw that."  
  
Cordy sniffed in wry mirth. "Thank my trusty demon guide."  
  
"I could kill him." Angel growled.  
  
"I wouldn't. I told you I'd stay with you till the end or till you shanshu. So if that means I'm vision girl forever, so be it." Cordy said to him stubbornly.  
  
Angel glowered. "I was just..."  
  
"Save it." Cordy cut in. "I might not be the slayer and only a half-demon in our world, but I'm Cordelia Chase, Queen C of Sunnydale High... and almost in Pylea too. Which is a whole other demon dimension! So, there's nothing that I can't do. Got that, mister?"  
  
Angel stared at her, spellbound by the beauty of her anger. "We'll be going through the sewers," he warned her.  
  
She shrugged. "Ew. But it never stopped me before."  
  
Angel broke into a smile, half out of frustration and the other half out of something he couldn't put into words. Giving into his first instinct, he wrapped his arms around her swiftly, crushing her to his chest. "We need to talk about what Skip showed you. I wish we had time now."  
  
In response, Cordy let out a strangled muffle. "If you think you can distract me by holding me in a death grip, think again. You're not winning this argument. I'm coming along too."  
  
Angel chuckled. She felt the rumble of it coming from deep within his stomach. He released her, gently putting his forehead to hers. "Cordy," he said fiercely, "If I wasn't dead already, I'd say you're going to be the death of me. Come on." He grabbed her hand and tugged it forward.  
  
Cordy stared at his strong back dazedly. "I convinced you? Geez, this time was a piece of cake..." Quickly, she scrambled to catch up with his long strides.  
~~ Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America, January 26, 2002 ~~  
  
The lights were low, the dance floor was smooth and smoky, and the audience was anticipating a great show.  
  
On one side of the dance floor was Willow nervously tugging the bottom of her red cocktail dress and standing with wobbly legs on three-inch heels.  
  
"This is ridiculous." she said to Wesley, who was standing in a black outfit, complete with hat and cape. "I can't even walk in these shoes, let alone tango in them. And I can't even dance normal dances!"  
  
He turned to her with a sympathetic smile. "Just remember to follow my lead and we'll be fine," he assured her. "We'll just go with the simple moves we practiced."  
  
Willow shot him a panicked look. "Ten minutes is not practice. That's like a teaser lesson. And I was in running shoes, not killer heels. I can't believe you're so calm about this. What if I fall down ungracefully?"  
  
"At least you look beautiful," Wesley grinned. Willow had to smile back at him. "Don't worry, I'll catch you. You won't fall."  
  
Willow let out a slightly shaky breath, but she had to admit to herself that she was feeling less nervous. However, when the crowd suddenly went wild and the spotlight shone on them, she felt a red flush creep up her neck. She felt Wesley's hand grasp hers and give her a reassuring squeeze.  
  
"Break a leg to us, I guess," she said, giving him a lopsided but grateful smile.  
  
Wesley nodded and smiling to the crowd, led her out into the center of the floor. Following his lead, she threw out an arm and bowed to the audience.  
  
"Just relax," Wesley breathed gently as they took their places and waited for the music to start. When the opening beat started, he whispered, "We're going to kick a little ass."  
  
Wesley, true to his word, kept a tight hold on Willow and kept her twirling and moving around the floor gracefully. For her part, she was determined not to slip up and followed his lead as quickly and closely as she could. Looking up into Wesley's face, she saw the twinkle in his eyes and smile. Suddenly, everything seemed to disappear to Willow except the floor and the lights and the music. All she was aware of was the shortness of her breath as they executed move after move, the exhileration of the passionate dance, and the pounding of her heart.  
  
And the surprisingly strong hand gripping one hand and another one at her back. Looking up, she could see the dark blueness of Wesley's eyes staring intensely into hers.  
  
Before it registered in her mind, the dance was over and the roar of the audience was deafening.  
  
Willow beamed, staring at the faceless crowd in amazement. "Wow, I can't believe we just did that!" she exclaimed.  
  
"You were brilliant." Wesley told her, grinning widely. They bowed and the audience stood up.  
  
"Luckily you know how to tango," she said, breathing a huge sigh of relief. They made their way off the dance floor towards the bar.  
  
"Actually, this is the first time I've danced a full song." Wesley admitted.  
  
"What?" she whirled to face him in astonishment. "But we... But you..."  
  
"I know some basic moves, which is what I taught you in the back," he ducked his head sheepishly. "I knew that the floor is enchanted."  
  
"Enchanted." Willow repeated. "You mean, we were dancing so well because of a magic spell?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you didn't tell me?" she asked incredulously. Wesley gave her a hesitant grin. "You knew that all this time and you let me be so nervous!"  
  
"It was kind of amusing." Wesley confessed, looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Willow shot him a peeved look. "You have to admit that the feeling you had after that dance was wonderful."  
  
"Well, I feel cheated," Willow pouted, crossing her arms. Seeing the repentant expression on Wesley's face, she couldn't help laughing. "I have to admit it felt pretty good."  
  
Wesley beamed at her in relief before turning to the bartender that had told them to dance. "So, about finding Galron."  
  
"You missed him by about a week." the demon with the flickering eyes told them. "Headed to Australia for a sabbatical."  
  
Wesley banged his fist on the counter in frustration.  
  
"I thought he knew that we were coming to meet him." Willow said puzzled.  
  
"He did." Wesley nodded in worry. He fingered the charm around his neck. Realization dawned on the red-haired witch.  
  
"The timeline." Willow said in horror. "He doesn't know we exist."  
  
"Then the change has begun." Wesley replied tensely. "Now, we haven't a moment to lose."  
~~ The Powers That Be, November 22, 1998 ~~  
  
"The interior design certainly looks great." Cordy commented as she took in her surroundings. The walls were high and seemingly never-ending, and they were made of stone.  
  
"Yeah, seems to be a common theme in these types of places." Angel dead-panned. Cordy shot him a bemused smile.  
  
"That's why you've been hogging these visits," she snorted.  
  
Suddenly, everything around them changed.  
  
Cordy looked on in awe. Surrounding them now were blue clouds and tall ivory pillars. Standing in front of one was a gold-skinned woman draped in white robes.  
  
"Who's Aphrodite?" Cordy asked Angel, nodding towards the woman.  
  
He frowned. "An oracle. I was hoping for someone less cryptic."  
  
"Why do you trespass?" the woman demanded imperially, stepping forward.  
  
"We want some answers --" Angel started, but was immediately cut off.  
  
"She is human." the woman said disdainfully, staring at Cordelia. "She should not be here."  
  
"Wait a minute." Cordy responded angrily. "You're the ones sending me the visions. I have every right to be here and find out what's going on with me!"  
  
"We are not sending you visions." the oracle replied emotionlessly. She turned to walk away. Angel immediately blocked the oracle.  
  
"See?" Cordy said, "I told you they're not visions. They're just really painful dreams."  
  
Angel turned to the silent oracle. "Then who is sending Cordelia the dreams?"  
  
"Our successors," the woman said.  
  
"If the Powers That Be are sending them, they must be visions, right?" Angel asked. The oracle nodded.  
  
"Then whatever they are, why do they hurt?" Cordy asked in dismay. "If they're just regular, run-of-the-mill images, why do they come to me in dreams?"  
  
"Time distorts. We were sending them. We are not sending them now."  
  
Cordy looked at Angel. "Do they always talk this way?"  
  
Angel nodded. "Unfortunately. I think what they mean is that they were sending you dreams when we were in our time still. They're from the past, so somehow the message sent to you made you feel pain. Remember you had a vision about those demons in that park? That one was a normal vision from our PTBs and you were fine."  
  
"Okay," Cordy said thoughtfully. "They say that they're not sending them now. So, what was that last nightmare about? Was it being sent by the Powers from our time? Is that why it hurt too?"  
  
"Maybe," he said worriedly. "And maybe it's because you're human in this time period."  
  
"Your essence is demon," the oracle broke in, her head turned towards Cordelia. "A link is formed for you." She turned her towards Angel. "However, not for you. Not for anyone else."  
  
"What does that mean?" Cordy questioned the woman. The woman only shook her curls and stepped back. Cordy swiveled towards Angel. "Any ideas?"  
  
He shook his head. "This was a free tip. She's not going to divulge any more information."  
  
"Great." Cordy said exasperated, throwing her hands in the air. "What good is that then?"  
  
"I'm more concerned about that nightmare you just had in the car." Angel said. "It had you so spooked. The way you looked at me... I thought you were ready to jump out."  
  
Cordy shuffled her feet nervously while her mind raced. 'How can I tell him that I dreamed of being a vampire?' she thought, staring at the expectant look on Angel's face miserably. 'He'll only blame himself about it. Or worse, shut me out of everything and try to be the hero all by himself. Only how can I lie to him?'  
  
At that moment, the woman turned to Angel accusingly. "You bring another human."  
  
Angel turned to her, startled. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Another female followed you." the woman paused for a second. "The slayer!"  
  
It was that instant that a dark haired girl tumbled out of the sky onto the floor. The girl rolled on her back and sprang back up with practiced agility.  
  
"Faith." Cordy groaned, recognizing the girl's crimson lips as the slayer tossed her hair. Turning to Angel's dismayed face, she echoed the thought running across his mind, "How are we going to explain this one?"  
  
In a flash, the sky and pillars disappeared. Cordy blinked and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself seated at a round table in Caritas. She was next to Angel, while Faith sat on his other side. With a sharp push at her chair, Faith got up. "Buffy is so going to hear about this," the angry brunette said triumphantly, glaring at Angel.  
  
"Well, if it isn't my three new favorite customers." a smooth voice said. Looking up at the source, she saw Lorne eyeing them uneasily. "We're not having any trouble tonight, right? We've got a treat today. A band is playing for us." The host waved towards his stage.  
  
Cordy looked in the direction of the stage. As she felt Angel's hand grip hers, she fought back the panic rising from the sight in front of her. Standing directly in front of them was Oz carrying his guitar. Judging from the confused look on the werewolf's face and the triumphant smirk on Faith's, Cordy realized that their past had just gotten more complicated.  
~~ London, England, January 26, 2002 ~~  
  
It was hot, humid and muggy. The London evening air was stifling. Standing in the middle of a museum, about 300 feet in front of a heavily guarded glass display, Angel was secretly fuming.  
  
Since the start of their journey to London, he hadn't a moment of peace. From the moment they left the L.A. airport, an incessant whining had persisted until they were constantly entwined with his thoughts. It was like the broken record of nightmares to him.  
  
Throughout the trip, he wondered why fate was playing this neverending trick on him. The idea that he could have made a life in L.A., away from Sunnydale, fathered a child, and made new friends was so far-fetched, he didn't know whether to laugh out loud or cry. And Angel was not known to do the latter very much and the former even less.  
  
Now that he and the self-appointed queen of Sunnydale High were on a mission together without anyone else, he was face-to-face with the question of why two people so obviously different from each other could be thrust in the same situation; not just once, but too many times.  
  
"Will you slow down?" a very familiar whine puffed behind him. Angel turned to see Cordelia bend over and glare at him between tired pants. "Otherwise this is going to be a one-person team."  
  
"I can do this by myself," he asserted tersely as he turned back to assess the display, which was covered in an array of criss-crossing laser beams attached to the security system. He may not be able to see the lasers but could distinctly hear the buzz of each laser beam. He paused, then shot out, "You didn't have to come with me. You could have continued shopping."  
  
"I looked at one dress. Just one!" she replied hotly. She opened her mouth to rant again. An almost imperceptible noise caught Angel's attention and he wheeled around quickly to cover her mouth.  
  
"Someone's here." he hissed in her ear. She stiffened and her eyes went wide with questioning. Both sets of eyes peered into the dimness.  
  
Angel's eyes were accustomed to seeing in the dark and was quick to spot a lone figure clad entirely in black slowly coming down a rope right over the stone's glass display. It appeared that this person knew of the security system, as he very carefully placed two mirrors on top of the display box. Angel watched as the masked intruder sprayed a fine liquid mist and the laser beams appeared briefly, clearly refracted away from the display.  
  
In front of him, Cordelia squirmed, obviously impatient. 'Don't say anything.' he silently warned her. As if she heard him, she stopped fidgeting. With a silent sigh of relief, Angel lowered the hand still wrapped around her mouth and focused his attention back to the other thief.  
  
The thief in black had taken a blade out and started to cut a circle on the top of the display. Suddenly, the mystery person looked up. At that moment, a loud noise pierced through the air.  
  
"Who triggered the alarm?" Cordelia yelled, hands over her ears. Angel's eyes darted back to the thief, who had started climbing back up the rope, abandoning the stone.  
  
'Is there enough time for me to grab the stone?' Angel thought. His answer came when the doors flew open and several security guards stormed through.  
  
"Where do we go?" Cordelia said frantically, her nails digging into his arm.  
  
Angel spotted a darkened staircase to their left, leading up to the roof. "That way," he said, pointing to their exit, tugging her to follow him.  
  
As they quickly clambered up the stairs and pushed through the cover at the top, Angel saw several guards surrounding the stone in the display. Pushing his disappointment away, he pulled Cordelia up to the roof of the museum. Together, they raced across to the edge of the roof, where a ladder by the side of the building was. Cordelia lifted her leg over the ledge to get onto the ladder.  
  
"Angel, behind you!" she cried out, her eyes widening. A gun shot rang out and Angel threw himself in front of Cordelia, but the shot missed hitting either of them.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Angel saw two men in uniforms rushing him. As one of them tackled him, he grabbed at the other one to keep him away from Cordelia, still trying to get onto the ladder.  
  
"Angel?" she called out, as he threw one of his assailants onto the ground. The other man locked an arm around his neck.  
  
"Go." he cried fiercely as he elbowed the man. Another two men came up and suddenly another shot rang out. The vampire heard a scream and as he turned, saw Cordelia lose her grip on the ladder, fall backwards with a frightened look on her face and then disappear from his sight.  
  
Instinctively, he headed for the ledge, but was pulled back by the man he was fighting. In frustration, he knocked him out and quickly took care of the other two men. Rushing to the edge, he peered over, bracing himself for what would be at the bottom. 


	15. Message from HP

February 22, 2003  
  
Okay, before I begin, I have to apologize.  
  
I'M SO SORRY.  
  
Yes, that's because I'm not going to continue all sections of this story to the end, at least not in the foreseeable future.  
  
The truth is that I've lost enthusiasm to write it all. It's not that I'm bored with the story myself (I'm real humble that way, aren't I?). I've even written the outlined conclusion for the next 11, possibly drawn out to 12 chapters (yes, that's a 1 and a 2), which meant that the rest of the story promised to be good and long. However, I hardly have time to write new (original) stories, let alone finish fanfiction. And my goals are to write original stuff.  
  
But all is not forlorn! I've got sketches for the very last chapter (i.e. chapter 25/26 because writers always write in some chronological order) which I might end up posting. Okay, I promise I will. In fact, I'm only going to finish the sections of Angel and Cordy back in 3rd season (1998) and the epilogue because I've fleshed those sections out already.  
  
Now, the interesting proposal if anyone still cares at this point. I'm opening up writing the conclusion of the story for anyone else who wants to complete this story. That's right. But here are a few ground rules:  
  
1) I still own (if I can call it that) what I've written and posted so far. And what I'm planning to write and finish posting.  
2) I will add a link to your story but please let me know before you plan to write the conclusion through email (hollywoodphoenix@yahoo.com and/or posting a review). If there are multiple people wanting to complete it, that's fine. I'll just add a link to your respective sections so it'll be kind of like a collaboration. But let me make it clear. What you write, you get to keep and own it (or at least I won't own it).  
3) And if you're wanting to write it, you're privy to story spoilers because after all, you'll need to know how my part will end, won't you?  
  
So have I confused you? Lost your interest? Or all and none of the above? Okay, I really don't know how that will work, but I'm willing to try it. The question is, are you willing to write within the confines of my rules? And my *ahem* sanity?  
  
Regardless, thanks for the patience.  
  
HP 


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